RJ Nembhard’s career night carries TCU past Iowa State in Big 12 opener
TCU sophomore guard RJ Nembhard entered the Big 12 opener shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range.
He went through a five-game stretch during nonconference play in which he made just 2 of 22 from long range.
But his coaches and teammates kept telling him to shoot. They were good looks. Eventually they would fall.
Well, it happened. Finally.
Nembhard provided the late-game heroics Saturday, banking in a game-tying 3 at the end of regulation and paving the way for TCU’s 81-79 overtime victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 opener at Schollmaier Arena.
“Everyone on the team works very hard in practice and outside of practice,” said Nembhard, the Keller High product who went 6 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with a career-high 31 points.
“They want to get shots in. Whenever someone is off, we don’t try to bring them down or anything. We encourage them to stay aggressive. That helps us as a whole.”
Nembhard served as the latest example of that mindset. It became necessary for him to step into the scoring role after leading scorer Desmond Bane picked up his fourth foul at the 13:07 mark in the second half.
But nobody would’ve been surprised if Nembhard had become trigger shy late in regulation. He missed a potential game-tying free throw with 10.5 seconds left. Iowa State, meanwhile, made its two free throws to take a 74-71 lead with eight seconds left.
Nembhard more than redeemed himself, pulling up from just inside the halfcourt line and banking in a 3-pointer to tie it at 74 with 1.7 seconds left and force overtime.
“I thought it was going in,” Nembhard said, breaking into a smile. “I didn’t think it was going to hit the glass. I was kind of surprised when it hit the glass.”
TCU is happy that the bank was open and an extra session awaited.
Nembhard scored the first four points of overtime, including another 3-pointer to give TCU a 78-74 lead with 2:25 left.
Iowa State didn’t go away. The Cyclones were within 80-79 on a 3-pointer by Rasir Bolton with 30 seconds left and actually had a chance to win it at the buzzer.
TCU made just one of its final four free-throw attempts, escaping with a victory when ISU guard Tyrese Haliburton’s deep 3 clanked off the rim.
Haliburton had a terrific night himself, finishing with a triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists). He took no solace in his stat line, though, lamenting the struggles his team had in containing Nembhard.
Asked about a player with stats as low as Nembhard’s having a big night, Haliburton said: “Frustrating. I don’t know if it’s something we’re doing. It seems like every game there’s a dude who’s 6 of 8 from 3.”
Nembhard was that “dude” for TCU and showed why coach Jamie Dixon has consistently said his team is better offensively than the numbers suggest.
“We’ve said all along that we’ve felt we were a better shooting team than what we’ve shot,” Dixon said. “You’ve seen our numbers increase and improve, and our percentages go up.
“We believe that. We’re working hard on it. We think our offense has gotten better the last two games, and the numbers indicate that.
“[Nembhard] got some open looks that he’s been getting all year, and the shots went down. Obviously the bank at half helps that percentage, too. But he played very well and made shots. We’ve just got to get on a page where everybody plays well.”
For as nice as TCU’s victory to open Big 12 play was, there are lingering issues with this team. Free-throw shooting continues to be worrisome. TCU shot better from the field (51.7%) and 3-point range (51.9%) than it did from the free throw line (41.2%).
In fact, Iowa State had a 12-point advantage from the free-throw line by making 19 of 27, compared to TCU’s 7 of 17.
“The numbers had improved. They had been going up,” Dixon said. “Today was a step backward.”
Just in the free-throw department, of course. It was a step forward in just about every other facet, with the team now boasting consecutive wins over quality teams in George Mason and Iowa State.
“It’s huge,” said Bane, who had 16 points. “We just beat two good teams in a row. Some momentum moving forward. It’s the first time for a lot of these guys playing in the Big 12, so to win our first game is huge.“
Along with Bane, Kevin Samuel also had 16 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Francisco Farabello played well, too, finishing with nine points and three assists.
TCU (10-3, 1-0 Big 12) is back in action Tuesday at Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. in Manhattan, Kansas.
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 7:40 PM.
