TCU fades late against Longhorns, remains winless in Big 12

By Stefan Stevenson

sstevenson@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN -- It wasn't the ideal situation, but if you're TCU coach Trent Johnson, you'll take what you can get.

TCU trailed Texas by nine points with 5:38 to play on Saturday, a deficit that could give most teams the hope of rallying for a victory. And when Adrick McKinney's layup was good, sending him to the free-throw line with a chance to cut the Horned Frogs' deficit to eight, the TCU bench jumped with excitement.

But McKinney's free-throw attempt missed. And Sheldon McClellan's jumper a minute later pushed the Longhorns' lead back to 11. Mini-crisis averted for Texas, which outscored TCU 8-2 in the final five minutes to pull away to a 60-43 victory in front of 7,314 in attendance at the Frank Erwin Center.

TCU (9-12, 0-8 Big 12), had put itself in a position to give Texas (9-12, 2-6) a ballgame down the stretch, despite woeful shooting at every spot on the court. The Frogs shot 32.7 percent from the field, including 15.4 percent from the 3-point arc. TCU missed its first eight 3-point attempts before Garlon Green hit two in the final 8:34 to help trim Texas' 17-point lead. Then there's the Frogs' free-throw shooting, which again did them no favors. The Frogs made less than 50 percent from the nail, making 7 of 15 attempts.

"We didn't shoot it very well," Johnson said, before quickly pointing out it has been a seasonlong theme. "We haven't shot it well all year. [Texas] did a good job of sagging off our non-shooters, and we have a lot of them."

Texas shot 52.3 percent, led by Ioannis Papapetrou's 13 points, and Connor Lammert added 10 for the Longhorns. The two Texas big-men combined to make 10 of 15 shots. McClellan led all scorers with 15 points.

"There is a lot of basketball left to play," said Texas coach Rick Barnes, whose team has won two of its last three games. "We need to make it happen. No one is going to give it to us."

McKinney led the Frogs with 13 points, and Connell Crossland and Green each had eight. Crossland also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Texas built a 32-20 lead at the half behind seven points each from McClellan and Papapetrou. McClellan scored six consecutive points during a 1:30 stretch to help the Longhorns take a 20-13 lead. Kyan Anderson's pull-up jumper with 4:20 left in the half pulled the Frogs to within 24-17, but Texas finished the half on an 8-3 run, including two fast-break layups off TCU turnovers. The half ended with Julien Lewis putting back a missed layup in transition at the buzzer.

TCU's quest for a Big 12 victory faces its toughest test of the season this week. Second-ranked Kansas, which lost 85-80 to Oklahoma State on Saturday, visits Daniel-Meyer Coliseum at 8 p.m. on Wednesday for a game telecast on ESPNU.

"We've been getting [good shots] all year," Johnson said. "Sooner or later these guys need to step up and make shots. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I'm not going to sit up here and dwell on it. I'm not going to beat them up. I'm going to be positive with them, keep encouraging them, and work on it."

Stefan Stevenson,

817-390-7760

Twitter: @FollowtheFrogs

Looking for comments?