While some of the toughest road venues in the country can be found in the Big 12– Allen Fieldhouse, United Supermarkets Arena, WVU Coliseum– it was the University of Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Arena that held over TCU’s head for nearly a century.
That all changed on Monday night, though, as the Frogs won in Norman, Oklahoma for the first time in school history, breaking their 14-game road losing streak to the Sooners.
Behind a near-perfect performance from forward Eddie Lampkin and a dominant team rebounding performance, TCU beat Oklahoma 72-63 to complete a season sweep of the Sooners and move to 4-3 in Big 12 play.
Lampkin went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field for a career-high 14 points. He also added a game-high 10 rebounds for the third double-double of his career.
With Lampkin leading the way, the Frogs won the glass battle in resounding fashion, outrebounding the Sooners 42-20. This was the 16th time out of 19 games played TCU had outrebounded its opponent.
The sophomore’s efficiency also carried over to his teammates, as TCU shot a season-high 52.8% from the floor as a team. Six different Frogs individually shot 50% or better in the contest.
On the other end, TCU held Oklahoma to 41% shooting as a team. The two schools were a combined 11-for-43 from behind the arc.
Leading all scorers was guard Damion Baugh. The Memphis-transfer went 8-for-13 for 20 points, adding eight rebounds, an assist and a steal.
After a slow first two minutes, TCU got hot early in the first half, making six-straight shots to take a 15-7 lead at the 14:49 mark.
Oklahoma was not going to be embarrassed in its own gym, though, and the Sooners responded with a 7-0 run of their own to pull within one.
That was the way the rest of the first half would go. The Frogs would go up by as much as 11 at one point (29-18), but four more times by halftime, the Sooners pulled back within one. At the break, TCU held onto a 36-35 lead.
Baugh got going early in the second half, scoring four-straight points to push the Frogs’ lead to five.
While Oklahoma had pulled within one yet again five minutes in, by the midway point of the second half TCU’s lead was all the way up to 12 on a layup by forward Xavier Cork.
The Frogs’ biggest lead of the game (14) then came just under the eight minute mark and again just 30 seconds later.
Over the next six minutes, though, TCU scored just six points, allowing Oklahoma to get back in the game. With 38 seconds left, the Frogs’ lead had been cut to five.
A TCU turnover gave the Sooners a chance to bring it even closer, but the shot bounced off the rim, and Baugh hit a pair of free throws to make it a three possession game with 23 seconds remaining.
Guard Mike Miles finished with 11 points, five assists and a steal. Cork added seven rebounds and a block.
At 4-3, TCU now sits at fifth in the Big 12. Up next, the Frogs will head back home to face Kansas State University. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
