After leading by nine at halftime, TCU men’s basketball couldn’t stop a late rally by Notre Dame, and the Horned Frogs fell 87-85 in overtime Friday night at Schollmaier Arena.

“Really disappointed by the loss, extremely disappointed with the rebounding, and I was disappointed by our defense,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting that message across. The rebounding is something we know we have to put every moment of focus in.”

TCU was outrebounded 36-28 and allowed Notre Dame to shoot 55% from the field. The loss snapped TCU’s three-game winning streak that included victories over defending national champion Florida and Wisconsin.

Despite those shortcomings, the Horned Frogs (5-3) had a chance to put the game away in regulation, but David Punch and Jayden Pierre went 2-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds, keeping TCU’s lead at 76-74 with 9.9 seconds remaining.

Freshman Jalen Haralson rebounded Pierre’s miss and went full court to knock down a pull-up jumper to send the game into overtime.

Haralson took over in the final minutes and overtime for the Fighting Irish (7-3), as he scored or assisted on 12 straight points to give the Fighting Irish an 84-81 lead with less than two minutes remaining. Haralson finished with 20 points.

The Horned Frogs had a chance to make it a one-point game, but Punch split a pair of free throws and the Horned Frogs were unable to grab the loose rebound, leaving Notre Dame ahead 84-82 with 42 seconds remaining.

The Fighting Irish increased their lead to 86-82 with 27 seconds remaining after Brock Harding committed a foul with Notre Dame in the double bonus. Notre Dame left the door open for a TCU comeback as it missed three of its final four free-throw attempts, and TCU only trailed 87-85 with eight seconds remaining.

Punch’s hook shot in the lane fell just short of the rim, and the Fighting Irish held on for the win.

TCU missed four free throws in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime, which ended up being the difference.

“We treated Notre Dame like they were nobody, and they came here and beat us,” Punch said. “We have to be consistent in prepping for everybody.”

After leading 45-36 at halftime, TCU found itself needing to make a comeback in the second half as the Fighting Irish came out inspired despite not having leading scorer Markus Burton available.

Burton, who entered the game averaging 19 points, hit a tough contested floater to cut TCU’s lead to 25-23 at the 9:48 mark in the first half, but he landed awkwardly on his left ankle and slumped to the floor in pain. Burton had to be helped off the court and didn’t return in the second half.

TCU outscored the Irish 20-13 in the final 9:48 to take control of the game, and Burton’s injury forced Notre Dame to change its approach.

With him on the court, the Fighting Irish were able to trade baskets with TCU, but his absence forced Notre Dame to go with a more gritty approach to try and slow down the Horned Frogs.

Notre Dame played zone at times and put a bigger emphasis on crashing the glass in the second half, but most importantly the Fighting Irish got hot from behind the 3-point line to put the Horned Frogs on their heels.

The Fighting Irish hit five 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 59-58 lead midway through the final half.

“We felt really good coming out of halftime like we already won the game,” Harding said. “They came out and played harder than us and wanted to win more than we did in the second half.”

With less than four minutes to go controversy arose, as TCU center Xavier Edmonds was ejected following a Flagrant 1 foul against Notre Dame center Carson Towt with TCU trailing 69-68 with 3:47 remaining. It was a critical moment as Towt would shoot two free throws and the Fighting Irish would keep possession.

The Horned Frogs had to play without Edmonds in overtime, and the need to go small also put TCU at a disadvantage against Notre Dame’s front line.

It was a disappointing finish, but the Horned Frogs can rebound with another quality win Sunday when they face North Texas (7-2) at 4:30 p.m. at Dickies Arena.

“We have to treat it like it’s the biggest game of the year,” Pierre said. “It’s the next game, it’s the only game we can do something about now. We’ve got to lock in and give the opponent respect and do what we got to do.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 9:40 PM.

Steven Johnson

Fort Worth Star-Telegram