TCU basketball is tested, but escapes with an 89-82 victory over North Dakota State
The TCU men’s basketball team appeared to be in for an easy night against North Dakota State on Tuesday.
The Frogs were coming off a victory at Oklahoma State last week, while the Bison brought in a 2-5 record. The early going suggested that, too, with the Frogs building a 44-27 lead during the first half.
But nothing is “easy” these days. TCU quickly saw its lead disappear and entered into a dogfight with North Dakota State. Fortunately for the Frogs, disaster was averted with an 89-82 victory over the Bison at Schollmaier Arena.
“I thought this could be the type of game it became,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “I hoped we could get it done with defense, but they hit 3s on defensive breakdowns. But I’m happy with how we finished.”
TCU (7-2) was led by freshman guard Mike Miles, who scored 26 points. Junior guard RJ Nembhard finished with 22 points, while Kevin Samuel had 14 points and six rebounds.
The Frogs shot 59% from the field and 46% from 3-point range.
Asked what clicked offensively, Miles said: “We were just taking what they gave us, not trying to force anything.”
North Dakota State was led by sophomore guard Jarius Cook’s 22 points. Senior forward Rocky Kreuser scored 21 points, going 7 of 8 from the field including a perfect 4 for 4 from 3-point range. The Bison finished the game by making 13 of 29 3-pointers.
The Bison (2-6) are better than their early-season record indicates, too. They lost their first five games, but those losses included an 11-point loss at No. 11 Creighton and a five-point loss at No. 7 Kansas.
“That’s a good win,” Nembhard said. “They play everybody close. They play together, play hard, play confident. It is a good win going into Christmas.”
With the game tied at 73-all with 5:45 left, TCU finally started to take control with a dunk by Samuel and a 3-pointer by Kevin Easley to take a 78-73 lead.
The Frogs stayed in front from that point on. Easley made a layup, courtesy of an assist by Miles, with just over two minutes left to give TCU an 82-75 lead. The Frogs had a two-possession lead the rest of the way.
The opening half saw TCU build a 44-27 lead at one point. But North Dakota State responded with a 16-0 run, holding TCU scoreless for almost four minutes, to get back in the game.
TCU led 49-45 at halftime.
TCU has over a week off for the holidays before returning to face Texas Southern on Dec. 30. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 10:30 PM.
