Halftime buzzer shot sparks TCU rally against Oklahoma State
TCU’s second-half comeback against Oklahoma State had one foot in the first half.
Brandon Parrish’s jumper with 1 second left before halftime got something started in the Horned Frogs as they rallied for a 63-56 victory at Schollmaier Arena, picking up only their second Big 12 win of the season.
“I think that shot at the buzzer really got me going,” Parrish said.
Him and everyone else in purple.
The Frogs had made only 2 of 20 shots when Parrish got the ball. Nothing was going in. Nothing was happening. In a battle of the two worst teams in the Big 12, it looked like TCU was going to be last.
I was pretty excited going into the second half because I knew it was only a matter of time before shots fall for everybody.
TCU guard Chauncey Collins
“It really wasn’t a play for me,” Parrish said. “I knew I had the ball in my hands, I saw the clock at 3, I knew I had to make a play. It left my hand, it felt good, and it splashed in.”
Then TCU made 11 of its first 13 shots in the second half. Five of them were 3-pointers, including three in a row from Chauncey Collins, Chris Washburn and Collins again for a 47-39 lead to cap the burst.
How did that happen?
“Anybody knows, please call me,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said.
It only half-looked like he was kidding.
The Horned Frogs (11-13, 2-9) were coming off a 28.6 percent shooting performance against Kansas. They had just put together a 25.9 percent first half.
Their 65.2 percent second half left them only to shrug and smile.
“I was pretty excited going into the second half because I knew it was only a matter of time before shots fall for everybody,” Collins said.
Parrish and Collins did the heavy lifting to give TCU a double-digit lead. Parrish’s teardrop floater and Collins’ layup off his own miss produced a 54-42 lead with 6:17 left.
Then the Frogs tried to hold on.
But it got close. A missed free throw and a turnover led to Leyton Hammonds’ 3-pointer for OSU (11-13, 2-9) that cut the lead to 55-51 with 2:20 left.
Malique Trent’s free throws provided breathing room again, then Parrish’s step-back jumper with a hand in his face made it 59-52 with 48 seconds left to all but ice it. It was his last basket, gave him 15 points and finished a 6-for-10 shooting night for him.
Collins added 13 points, Trent had 12, and Washburn had 10.
“We knew we had to win this game. We knew we didn’t want to give another one up, especially not at home,” Parrish said. “And that said, being down six at the half, we knew a strong second-half push, we were going to get back. How many points did we score in the second half? What, 44? After a 19-point first half, we were just more aggressive, more confident and more free.”
So did one shot before the half make all that happen?
Johnson shrugged. He just liked that his team executed the play.
“In late-game situations, free-throw line situations, we try to go to that,” he said. “This is the first time in, I guess a month, where we really executed. So for me, when they execute stuff like that and do exactly what they’re supposed to do and have success, that’s good. But in terms of momentum going into the half, yeah, I think I felt pretty good — because they ran a play. Any time a guy scores like that, I think it helps.”
That soon became clear.
Carlos Mendez: 817-390-7760, @calexmendez
TCU 63, OKLAHOMA ST. 56
OKLAHOMA ST. (11-13): Hammonds 6-9 0-0 16, Carroll 2-6 5-5 10, Solomon 1-3 0-0 2, Griffin 4-7 3-4 12, Newberry 2-10 3-4 8, Burton 0-3 0-0 0, Shine 1-3 0-0 3, Dillard 0-1 0-0 0, Olivier 2-4 1-2 5, Allen Jr. 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 12-15 56.
TCU (11-13): Abron 2-7 0-0 4, Washburn 4-7 1-2 10, Collins 4-9 3-4 13, Trent 4-7 2-3 12, Parrish 6-10 2-6 15, M. Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Brodziansky 1-7 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 4-4 7. Totals 22-50 12-19 63.
Halftime—Oklahoma St. 25-19. 3-Point Goals—Oklahoma St. 8-24 (Hammonds 4-7, Carroll 1-3, Shine 1-3, Griffin 1-4, Newberry 1-5, Burton 0-1, Dillard 0-1), TCU 7-17 (Collins 2-3, Trent 2-4, Miller 1-1, Washburn 1-1, Parrish 1-4, Brodziansky 0-4). Fouled Out—Solomon. Rebounds—Oklahoma St. 37 (Carroll, Solomon 6), TCU 25 (Trent 5). Assists—Oklahoma St. 10 (Griffin 5), TCU 12 (Trent 4). Total Fouls—Oklahoma St. 20, TCU 15. A—4,957.
This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 10:08 PM with the headline "Halftime buzzer shot sparks TCU rally against Oklahoma State."