Noah Reynolds capped off a milestone night with a game-winning layup, lifting TCU to a thrilling 63-62 victory over Kansas State Thursday at Schollmaier Arena. The senior guard’s decisive bucket with 12.8 seconds remaining completed a 7-0 run in the final three minutes, securing the Horned Frogs’ first Big 12 win of the season.
Reynolds, who surpassed 1,000 career points early in the game, finished with a game-high 18 points, including 12 in the second half. The dramatic finish came after the Horned Frogs found themselves down 62-56 with just 3:14 to play.
“Down the stretch, we did what we needed to do,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said. It wasn’t the perfect game for us. We changed some defenses down the stretch finally, and I think that was the key for us to get some stops.”
The comeback began with Vasean Allette, who contributed 14 points, cutting the deficit to four with just over two minutes remaining. Brendan Wenzel, making his return after a month-long absence, drilled a crucial three-pointer with 1:17 left to set up for Reynolds’ layup. Kansas State’s final attempt from Dug McDaniel rimmed out as time expired.
Despite the victory, TCU’s rebounding struggles were evident as they were outworked on the glass 47-36, with Kansas State’s David N’Guessan pulling down 17 rebounds. However, the Horned Frogs’ defense were able to limit the Wildcats to just 13 second-chance points and 39.1% shooting overall.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever went in with getting outrebounded by this kind of margin,” coach Dixon said. “We’ve got to get this fixed. We thought we spent all week with it. And obviously, with Houston, we have a great rebounding team and going to play against them.”
Trazarien White matched Allette with 14 points, including a sharp 3-of-4 performance from beyond the arc, while Ernest Udeh Jr. led TCU with 12 rebounds and four assists. The Horned Frogs’ ball security proved crucial, committing just six turnovers – their lowest since the season opener.
Frogs by 1 with 9.5 to play
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— TCU Men’s Basketball (@TCUBasketball) January 4, 2025
The victory marked TCU’s third straight win over Kansas State and kept the Horned Frogs perfect at home this season at 8-0. It also moved coach Dixon closer to a career milestone, bringing his overall record to 496-238.
TCU will face a quick turnaround as they travel to face No. 14 Houston on Monday night, where their rebounding will be put to the test in their third conference game of the season.
