Far less drama for No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs and Mike Miles in a 77-66 victory over Lamar
No. 14 TCU was anxious to get back on the court after nearly being upset in its season opener vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff.
There was far less drama in the Horned Frogs’ 77-66 win over Lamar on Friday, but the comfortable margin wasn’t enough to erase all the questions that emerged from the one-point win over the Golden Lions.
“In no way do I feel like we played a great game, but at least we did somethings we addressed,” head coach Jamie Dixon said.
The first half was close with Lamar hanging on as TCU struggled from the 3-point line and had to deal with forward Emanuel Miller in foul trouble. The defense was much improved as the Horned Frogs held Lamar to just one 3-pointer and 35% overall from the field.
“We did what we wanted to do in terms of making some improvements guarding the 3,” Dixon said. “Limiting them to four makes was a big priority for us. There were some improvements on the defensive end.”
TCU started nicely in the second half, jumping out a 43-30 lead after a Mike Miles 3-pointer with over 18 minutes to play. The Horned Frogs were starting to show why they were so highly ranked in the preseason, but that didn’t last long as Lamar scrapped back to make it a one-point game behind guards Chris Pryor and Jakevion Buckley.
The Horned Frogs responded with timely 3-pointers by JaKobe Coles and Chuck O’Bannon to go back up 56-48. TCU finally gained separation in the final five minutes as back-to-back transition baskets from Shahada Wells and Emanuel Miller made it 71-57 with just 3:11 remaining.
Miles delivered the dagger as he tossed a perfect alley-oop to Miller that made it 75-64 with 1:10 to go.
It was still far from a dominating performance you would expect from a Top 15 team, but a clear improvement from the season opener.
“I feel like we came out a little more intensity, not that much, but better than last game,” Miles said. “We’ve got to keep improving.”
A more aggressive Miles
After the narrow win over UAPB, Miles was surprised during the postgame media when he learned he only took eight shots against the Golden Lions. A lack of shots wouldn’t be a problem against the Cardinals as Miles came out clearly on a mission.
In the first half Miles played like a running back attacking the hole as constantly drove head first into the paint to attack the Lamar defense. He landed hard on the ground a few times. He even took an inadvertent elbow from teammate Micah Peavy that left him leaking blood.
Miles wouldn’t let the physicality deter him. He scored six points in the row late in the first half including a nice pull-up jumper that made it 28-23 with 4:49 remaining before halftime.
“I just try to let the game come to me. If I feel I got an advantage on a defender I’m going to take it,” Miles said. “I just come in and take what the defense gives me. For some reason today I was able to get to the rim.”
Miles stayed aggressive after scoring 18 in the first half as he knocked down two 3-pointers against the Lamar zone defense. The preseason Big 12 Player of the Year finished with 26 points. Miles was the only Horned Frog to get to the free throw line as he went 9 of 14 from the free throw line.
“I thought Mike played hard, I thought he was unselfish with the ball, I thought he made some really good passes,” Dixon said.
Shahada the spark plug
With Damion Baugh still suspended for signing with an uncertified agent in the offseason, Shahada Wells has had to step up and he contributed key moments throughout the game.
Like when the Cardinals only trailed 28-25 with less than five minutes before halftime. Wells hit a massive 3-pointer that sparked a 12-2 tun that carried over into the second half. Or when he had a highlight play to Emanuel Miller as he tossed the forward a no-look pass that he finished off with a dunk.
Wells gave TCU a 40-27 lead after forcing a steal and finishing the layup in transition less than 60 seconds into the second half. He finished with 10 points and added six assists as he showed he could be a capable secondary ballhandler going forward.
“Starting or coming off the bench, it’s about giving the team a punch, that spark that we need,” Wells said. “I’m excited to be back (from) injury and helping my teammates while Damion is out.”
Dixon says the school is getitng closer to getting Baugh back and that they’ve heard better news regarding his suspension from the NCAA.
“We haven’t gotten anything official yet, but I would say the news has gotten better, but he’s still not playing so it ain’t that good,” Dixon said. “We have a little bit better understanding of what’s it going to be. I think (Baugh) has handled it well. I thought it would be an opportunity for some guys and they have to be ready for that opportunity.”
A new starting lineup
After struggling against Arkansas Pine Bluff, Dixon decided to switch things up as he inserted Oklahoma State transfer Rondel Walker and Xavier Cork into the starting lineup in place of Shahada Wells and Eddie Lampkin. The unit started fine with Cork scoring the first basket of the game on a putback shot.
Lampkin check in less than four minutes into the game and was engaged despite surprising many TCU fans by coming off the bench. After Lamar briefly took a one-point lead early in the first half, Lampkin helped put the Horned Frogs back in front as his transition layup that he finished with a finger roll made it 14-11 and forced a Lamar timeout.
Dixon says an illness kept Lampkin out of the starting lineup against Lamar
“I just walked out with him and he says he feels fine,” Dixon said. “He hasn’t practiced the last two days, so that’s what went into the decision on that. We were trying to get Rondel going to be honest. We’ve got to get something out of one of these other guards.
Cork was productive with four points and seven rebounds, but Walker went just one of six from the floor. Lampkin still ended up playing the most minutes at center and finished with six points, nine rebounds and a block.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 9:04 PM.
