No. 15 TCU’s rally falls short in loss at Oklahoma State

TCU’s rally attempt at Oklahoma State came up just short as the Horned Frogs fell 79-73 to the Cowboys on Saturday.

Without Mike Miles Jr. and Eddie Lampkin Jr. for another game, the No. 15 Horned Frogs (17-6, 6-4) trailed by double digits most of the game until making a final charge in the last seven minutes of the game.

TCU led 65-63 with 3:57 to go, but the comeback effort couldn’t be sustained as the Cowboys went on a 9-0 run to go back in front. Oklahoma State (14-9, 5-5) made seven straight field goals and made crucial blocks, but the Horned Frogs weren’t done yet.

The Horned Frogs scored two buckets in quickly including a 3-pointer from Shahada Wells to make it 72-70 with 1:23 remaining. In the end Oklahoma State forward Kalib Boone was too much as he hit two clutch baskets in the final seconds to make it 76-71.

Boone was the difference with 25 points and six rebounds. Without Lampkin’s presence in the paint, Boone went 11-of-15 from the field. Emanuel Miller led TCU with 17 points.

The comeback run

While TCU was lacking some starpower, the Horned Frogs still had plenty of grit. After falling behind 19 points right after halftime, the Horned Frogs roared back with a 20-3 run to make it a two-point game with 11:52.

The run was keyed by TCU finally getting hot behind the 3-point line as Chuck O’Bannon, JaKobe Coles and Miller all hit 3-pointers during the decisive run.

Damion Baugh’s slashing layup made it 51-49, but the Cowboys would eventually get the lead back up to eight. O’Bannon hit another 3-pointer and Shahada Wells delivered a poster dunk over Boone to make it 57-54 with 7:55 remaining in the game.

With TCU down 59-56, Baugh tied the game with 5:41 remaining after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. Miller gave the Horned Frogs their first lead of the game on the next drip down the floor at the free throw line with 5:08 remaining.

Baugh finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists while Wells added 14.

Asberry’s first impression

Caleb Asberry was making his first career start for Oklahoma State in place of Avery Anderson and had quite the debut at the expense of the TCU defense. Asberry set a career-high with 19 points and routinely hit buckets at the most opportune times for the Cowboys.

Every time the Horned Frogs got within 10 it seemed like Asberry would have an answer like when he hit a running layup in the paint to make it 39-27. Earlier in the half Asberry drained one of his three 3-pointers to make it 30-15 with just 7:27 remaining in the first half.

It’s no surprise TCU made its comeback by limiting his impact. Asberry scored five minutes in the first 70 seconds of the second half, but went over 15 minutes without a field goal. He also was the one that fouled Baugh on the game-tying free throws.

Asberry was clutch from the free throw line when it mattered and hit four free throws in the final 2:07.

Slow start

Oklahoma State was on fire from the opening tip against the Horned Frogs as TCU found itself down 12-0 in the opening four minutes. The Horned Frogs missed their first five shots and settled for 3-pointers against Oklahoma State’s vaunted defense.

On the flip side, Boone thrived with Lampkin out of the lineup. Boone made his first three attempts including a dunk that made it 9-0. TCU didn’t score its first points until Baugh hit two free throws with 16:04 remaining in the first half. The Cowboys would lead by as many as 16 points in the first half.

The Horned Frogs made a small run after the Cowboys went to a matchup zone with Coles hitting two baseline jumpers to make it 37-27 with just over two minutes before halftime. TCU didn’t maintain the intensity as the Cowboys responded with a 6-0 run that included a technical foul on the TCU bench. OSU led 43-29 at the break.