Trent Johnson glanced over the stat sheet after TCU's 75-42 victory over Centenary and knew it didn't tell the story of the game.
Forward Connell Crossland had his first career double-double on Monday night, and fellow forward Adrick McKinney led the team in scoring. Both were impressive nights, numbers-wise, and seemed to be leading candidates for a player of the game endorsement from the head coach.
But Johnson went with a guard who scored four points off the bench.
"The most important player of this game tonight was Nate Butler Lind," Johnson said. "You see Nate is 2-for-4 with four points, but he had three assists that led to baskets. No turnovers. And he did a good job defensively."
Lind helped turn the game into a rout midway through the second half. TCU led 46-31 with 13:30 left, and then it went on an 11-0 run started by a pair of assists from Lind to McKinney for easy layups.
The Frogs had a 58-31 lead three minutes later, paving the way for the 33-point victory in their second game of the season at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. It doesn't count as a loss for Centenary, a Division III school, under NCAA rules.
For TCU, Johnson is the first coach to start 2-0 in his first season since Billy Tubbs won his first three games in 1994.
Johnson was pleased with how his team played after their lackluster 53-46 victory over Cal Poly on Friday. He felt the Frogs didn't take the Gents lightly even though they were undersized and less athletic.
"I thought our guys were ready to play and felt throughout the game we got better," Johnson said.
TCU didn't get off to a great start. Centenary was within 13-12 after Simeon Brinkley made a 3-pointer with 9:57 left. But TCU pulled away with a 14-1 run, led by McKinney and Amric Fields, who had four points each in that spurt.
By halftime, the Frogs led 36-20.
"We had a post advantage and I thought guys missed easy point-blank shots [early in the first half]," Johnson said.
Eventually, the Frogs' forwards took advantage and had career nights. Crossland finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and McKinney matched a career-high with 16 points.
Guard Jarvis Ray added 11 points, and guard Kyan Anderson had 10 points as TCU finished with four double-digit scorers.
Drew Davison
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