TCU rolls over Bradley, improves to 11-1 with Big 12 play up next

TCU began its Christmas basketball break Wednesday by winning for the 11th time in 12 games this season, 74-42 over the visiting Bradley Braves at Schollmaier Arena.

Desmond Bane scored a game-high 18 points, including 12 in the second half for the Frogs, who didn’t win by lighting up the offensive side of the stat sheet.

TCU shot 39 percent from the field in a game that had neither team blazing trails offensively. Yet TCU enjoyed a sizable advantage in free throws made – 14 to 6 – and an 18-to-11 turnover margin over the Braves, who hit only 16 of 47 field-goal attempts.

Guard Kenrich Williams, who entered with 10 rebounds in four of his last five games, fell just shy of another double-double with 10 points and a co-team-high eight rebounds.

The victory marked the close of the Horned Frogs’ nonconference schedule. TCU embarks on an eight-day break before returning for a Big 12 Conference opener with No. 3 Kansas on Dec. 30.

“I don’t know how many game we can win by that margin shooting the way we did,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “I thought we played with intensity early defensively. Didn’t shoot it great, but relied on our defense and taking care of the ball … those have to be the constants. So I guess this was a great example of that type of game.

“It’s a good one for us going into the break and getting ready for Kansas.”

Donte Thomas, Antoine Parker and Koch Bar each had eight for Bradley, which fell to 5-8 in losing a third consecutive game.

Midway through the second half, TCU had hit only 15 of 47 shot attempts.

But the Frogs received a jolt from Bane’s second-half emergence. The freshman guard was 6-of-12 from the field, including three 3-pointers in the second half. Bane also had seven rebounds. Kaviar Shepherd had nine points and eight rebounds. Brandon Parrish added nine off the bench.

“I think he needed that to get him going,” Kenrich Williams said of Bane. “He needed this game for his confidence.”

The Frogs jumped on the Braves early.

Parrish hit two 3-pointers in a 1:03 span and Bane followed with a dunk to put the Frogs up 16-2.

But TCU hit an offensive wall, going 7:11 without a field goal, allowing the Braves to get a foot in the door. Darrell Brown’s 3-pointer followed by baskets from Antoine Pittman and JoJo McGlaston cut TCU’s lead to six.

Shepherd’s dunk off Jaylen Fisher’s assist and J.D. Miller’s layup off a break broke the Frogs’ skid and, with four free throws, amounted to an 8-0 run that, coinciding with an over-four minute Bradley scoring drought, increased TCU’s lead back to 14.

Williams’ layin off an alley-oop pass from Robinson, plus a free throw, put TCU up 18 near halftime.

Neither team shot well in the first half. TCU hit only 36 percent of its 33 attempts before slumping further to begin the last 20 minutes.

“I don’t know why we struggled from the field,” Williams said. “We’ve been in the gym putting up shots. We’ll stay in the gym continuing to shoot. Hopefully, next game they’ll go in.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 10:47 PM with the headline "TCU rolls over Bradley, improves to 11-1 with Big 12 play up next."