The Horned Frogs were defeated by the No. 22 SMU Mustangs 75-70 Wednesday night at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Frogs held a 70-67 lead over the Mustangs with three minutes to play, but could not hold on for the win, surrendering eight unanswered points to end the contest.
Holding on to leads was a struggle for the Frogs throughout the game. The Frogs jumped out to an early 22-10 lead in the first half, propelled by a 15-1 run. The Mustangs stormed back however to erase that deficit and take 40-37 lead into halftime, boosted by their own run of 16-1.
“We lost our composure at crucial times and got caught up in what I call a bunch of nonsense, and to me that is disturbing because we are better than that and our program is built on stuff better than that,” TCU head coach Trent Johnson said.
TCU forward Karviar Shepherd and guard Chauncey Collins, who had already sunk four three pointers in the game, each missed three point attempts on difficult looks in the final minute of play. Guard Brandon Parrish also had a three-point attempt blocked in the final seconds of play. The Frogs went 9 for 27 from three point range in the loss.
Rebounding also plagued the Frogs. The Frogs were out-rebounded by SMU 44-32 on the night.
“We just didn’t box out like we needed to,” Shepherd said. “That’s something we can work on at practice and we’re looking forward to our players getting better at that.”
To add to the rebounding woes for TCU, the Mustangs scored 24 points off of second chances, compared to the Frogs’ 11.
“The difference in the game, make no mistake about it, was rebounding,” Johnson said. “The difference in any game we play in this year is going to be our ability to rebound and make good decisions.”
Forward and TCU-newcomer Vlad Brodziansky had another solid outing in the loss, recording 18 points for the Frogs. His night included five two-point field goals, two three point field goals, and two free throws. Brodziansky also recorded seven rebounds on the night, despite the teams overall struggles in the rebounding department.
“He is real consistent in his behavior and his approach,” Johnson said. “Nothing he has done surprises me.”
On the other side, SMU was propelled by a solid outing from guard Nic Moore. Moore went 9 for 19 from the field, including five three pointers, tallying a game-high 26 points for the Mustangs.
“Nic Moore is an incredible player and he shows incredible class,” Johnson said.
The Mustangs were without head coach Larry Brown in the win. Brown is serving a nine game suspension for academic violations in the program involving guard Keith Frazier. Sanctions were levied against SMU on Sept. 30.
The Frogs will take the court again when they host Colgate on Saturday, Dec. 5. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
