Hank Thorns had a team-high 18 points and freshman Kyan Anderson chipped in 15 of his own, but it wasn't enough, as the TCU men's basketball team fell to Nebraska 69-57 Saturday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Frogs (7-3) held a 37-30 lead at halftime, but the Cornhuskers (6-3) went on a 7-2 run to start the second half and took the lead for good with 10:26 left in the game.
Senior point guard Bo Spencer, a transfer from LSU, led Nebraska with 22 points, including eight in the last three minutes of the game.
TCU trailed 58-55 with 3:33 left when Spencer, who drained a three-pointer from behind half court at the halftime buzzer, made a fade-away shot as time expired off the shot clock to extend the Cornhusker's lead. Spencer added another dagger on Nebraska's next possession, this time sinking a 15-footer from the corner that gave the Cornhuskers a 62-55 lead, their biggest of the game.
Thorns made a pair of free throws that got TCU back to within five points, but the Frogs wouldn't get any closer. Spencer was fouled on consecutive possessions and made all four free throws, giving Nebraska a commanding nine point lead, a deficit TCU couldn't overcome with just 1:41 left in the game.
TCU head coach Jim Christian praised Spencer after the game.
"(Bo) Spencer is a heck of a player," Christian said. "He hit some tough shots to give them leads. We have to get stops in those situations, and we have to take care of the basketball."
Christian said his team simply got out-played down the stretch. In crunch time, the Frogs couldn't perform, Christian said.
“It came down to a five-minute game," Christian said. "They were tougher than us for the last five minutes. That’s what happened. You can’t break down."
Christian said his team has to get better at closing games out. Doing so, Christian said, starts with senior leadership and defense.
"We have to get better," Christian said. "There are going to be a lot of these tough battles with five minutes left to go and it’s going to be a tight game. Our seniors have to give us better defensive leadership and not try to do everything by themselves. It’s all on the defensive end. That’s where it started. We broke down too many times, and we can’t afford to do that."
Thorns said TCU's second-half struggles, which have been an issue all season, finally came back to haunt them Saturday night.
“Second-half slow starts caught up to us finally," Thorns said.
The Frogs shot just 24 percent (6-of-25) from the field and was held without a three-pointer (0-for-4) in the second half after making five before halftime.
Adrick McKinney led the Frogs with seven rebounds.
Garlon Green added 13 points, including a team-high 11 in the first half.
TCU will be back in action Dec. 19 when it travels to the University of Southern California. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. local time.
