TCU men’s basketball won its second conference game of the year on Monday night, snapping its 7-game conference losing streak with a win over Oklahoma State 63-56.
The Frogs got off to a slow start and found themselves down 25-19 at the half. Only shooting 26 percent from the field, TCU went into the locker room at halftime on a dismal 3 for 21 shooting streak.
Head coach Trent Johnson said he was able to rally his players at halftime and get their momentum back on track.
“We made a conscious decision to get Brandon (Parrish) going, to get Malique (Trent) going,” Johnson said.
Trent hit two three-pointers to start the second half. More scoring efforts by Brandon Parrish tied the game at 34.
The Frogs’ first lead since the fifth minute came after a steal and layup by guard Chauncey Collins.
Parrish said the team worked hard on defense in practice after allowing Kansas to shoot 50 percent from the field on Saturday.
“We emphasized defense,” Parrish said. “We knew the offense would come. I feel like that was one of the better defensive games of the year.”
The Frogs were able to hold Oklahoma State to 39 percent shooting from the field. That was partly due to the loss of Oklahoma State’s leading scorer Jawun Evans, who missed the game with a shoulder injury.
Evans injured his shoulder on Feb. 3 against Texas Tech and has missed the last two games. Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford said Evans might be out for the rest of the season with the injury.
Parrish finished the game as TCU’s leading scorer with 15 points and four rebounds. Collins scored 13 points after being held scoreless in the first half. Trent, recovering from a wrist injury from Saturday’s game against Kansas, scored 12.
Johnson said Trent played aggressively to start the game.
“When he’s aggressive, good things happen,” Johnson said. “And when this team’s aggressive, good things happen.”
Collins said a big role in the turnaround was the Frogs’ confidence.
“We’ve got confidence in each other,” Collins said. “We just have to stay confident and keep putting up shots. It felt good to finally get one.”
The victory for TCU was its first conference win since the Jan. 8 upset over Texas. The Frogs are now 2-9 in Big 12 Conference play, tied for ninth with Oklahoma State. Both teams sit at 11-13 overall on the season.
The Frogs will travel to Morgantown on Saturday to take on No. 10 West Virginia. The Mountaineers are first in the Big 12 with an 8-2 conference record and are 19-4 overall.
