PJ Fuller, Edric Dennis have big days as TCU basketball rolls past Lamar
PJ Fuller didn’t hesitate when asked how much more confidence he had Saturday compared to his first college game five weeks ago.
“A lot more, strictly because of my teammates and my coaches installing that confidence in me,” Fuller said. “Challenging me to do more.”
Fuller did plenty in the best game of his young career, helping push TCU to an impressive 79-50 victory over the Lamar Cardinals in an afternoon game at Schollmaier Arena.
TCU (8-2) has won four of its past five, while Lamar (6-5) has now lost four of its past six.
Fuller finished with a game-high and career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.
“My teammates were finding me in the open spots,” Fuller said. “I was doing everything [coach Jamie] Dixon was telling me to do, trying my best to. And because I was doing what he was telling me to do, my teammates were able to find me in those open spots.
“Games like this is just a little confidence booster for myself and also for my teammates.”
TCU didn’t get off to the fastest start, trailing 10-8 at the first media timeout almost five minutes into the game. But the Horned Frogs eventually found their rhythm.
A 19-1 run — starting with a layup by RJ Nembhard to tie the game at 14 at the 11:54 mark of the first half and closing with a 3-pointer by Francisco Farabello for a 31-15 lead at the 4:26 mark — is all TCU needed to take control of the game.
Senior guard Edric Dennis played a starring role in that run, knocking down two 3-pointers and adding two more points on a fast-break dunk.
“We just locked in defensively,” Nembhard said of the run. “This past week we’ve had probably our best practices all season. Rotating, doing little things like that. On offense, move the ball, share the ball. We trust each other. We’re very close, and we’re getting closer each game, so it’s easy to go on a run.”
TCU didn’t let up after that, scoring 10 of the final 14 points of the opening half for a 41-19 lead at the break. Freshman Diante Smith drained a 3-pointer from the corner for the final score of the half.
TCU maintained a comfortable lead in the second half. The Frogs had a 24-point lead early, and their 29-point victory was the second-most lopsided victory (98-65 over Louisiana on Nov. 12) of the season.
TCU finished 13 of 29 from 3-point range, its most made 3-pointers since setting a program-record 18 in the Louisiana victory. The Frogs also had 22 assists, won the rebounding battle 44-35 and forced 19 turnovers by Lamar.
“I liked how we played in that [first half] and kind of played off our defense, which we’re trying to do going forward here,” Dixon said. “We want our defense to feed into our offense, and it’s something that may be new to some of these guys.”
Along with Fuller, Dennis had 14 points and Nembhard had 13. Sophomore center Kevin Samuel posted another double-double with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Lamar was led by junior forward/center Avery Sullivan and sophomore guard Davion Buster, as both scored 14 points.
TCU will have more than a week off with finals next week. The Frogs return to action against No. 23 Xavier on Dec. 22. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
As far as keeping the momentum from Saturday’s game with a lengthy layoff, Dixon said: “There were some good things as far as shooting the ball. We’ve just got to get in the gym. The main thing is we saw some guys have some success in practice, get in the gym on their own and then shoot it a little bit better. So that’s something that’s a good thing going forward.
“We’ve got to become a better team in these eight days. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 3:48 PM.
