TCU caps perfect November with comeback win over Washington

TCU put the wraps on an undefeated November start to the Jamie Dixon era of men’s basketball Wednesday night in Schollmaier Areana.

But the Horned Frogs had to overcome a significant dose of early adversity to make it happen. TCU erased a 17-point, first-half deficit and pulled away down the stretch to knock off Washington 86-71.

Point guard Alex Robinson scored a team-high 16 points and handed out a game-high seven assists in helping the Horned Frogs (7-0) beat the Huskies for the second time in a four-day stretch. TCU also prevailed in Saturday’s finals of the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas.

But the rematch hardly followed the same script as TCU’s 93-80 victory in Vegas. This time around, the Horned Frogs hit only one of their first 12 shots and needed to rally with an 18-0 run late in the first half to turn the momentum on a night when the Frogs were outrebounded, 46-33, but overcame it by forcing a season-high 25 turnovers by the Huskies (4-3).

The comeback, Robinson said, provided a confidence boost and underscored the closeness of this team.

“It’s great for us. We’re 7-0 now,” said Robinson, a transfer from Texas A&M and a Mansfield Timberview graduate. “The chemistry’s just great between us all. This is one of the closest basketball teams I’ve been on. Whenever anybody gets down, we’re right there to pick them up and get them back up.”

That trait was put to the test by the Huskies, who raced to a quick 22-5 lead behind freshman guard Markelle Fultz (21 points, 6 assists), the primary attraction for the 16 representatives from NBA franchises in attendance at Wednesday’s contest. But after the Huskies expanded their advantage to 17 points on David Crisp’s 3-pointer, TCU answered with an 18-0 run during a 3:01 mark to grab its first lead, 23-22, on a Robinson 3-pointer with 5:53 left in the half.

Until the rally began, TCU had made only 2-of-15 shots from the field. During the 18-0 run, Robinson scored nine of the points. The surge began with a layup by guard Brandon Parrish at the 8:54 mark. Over the next three minutes, the Frogs connected five more times from the field and added a pair of Desmond Bane free throws to turn the momentum.

Washington, which had an 11-0 run of its own at one point in the first half, committed 16 first-half turnovers that proved helpful in TCU’s rally. The Huskies never regained the momentum after the Frogs’ surge.

“We worked hard to get that deficit and then we worked hard to get that 18-0 run,” Dixon said. “I hope we learned from it. Certainly, we can do things better.”

TCU finished with four double-digit scorers, including freshman guard Jaylen Fisher. Saddled by early foul trouble, Fisher finished with 15 points after having only one at halftime. The Frogs also absorbed a foul-plagued game by 6-foot-11 forward Karviar Shepherd, a starter who finished with no points or rebounds but committed four fouls in seven minutes of action.

The Frogs rallied behind a double-double performance from Kenrich Williams (10 points, 10 rebounds) and solid inside work from forwards J.D. Miller (12 points) and Chris Washburn (8 points, 3 rebounds).

“Our depth seems to be a strength for us and that’s a good thing,” Dixon said. “I’m excited about out depth. I’m excited about our young guys. They continue to get better.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 10:28 PM with the headline "TCU caps perfect November with comeback win over Washington."