TCU
4-0
Grambling State
0-4
Horned Frogs Roll Past Grambling State, 99-67
11/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2007
The TCU men's basketball program remained perfect with a 4-0 record after hammering Grambling State by a 99-67 count on Wednesday (Nov. 21) evening at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum en route to notching its best start since the 1997-98 season.
Brent Hackett (Fort Worth, Texas/Southwest H.S.) and Henry Salter (Gulfport, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast College) each played a big role in the scoring attack for the Frogs as the TCU duo each notched a 23-point performance against the Tigers. Hackett finished the game connecting on 8-of-15 field goal attempts, including a career-high six three-pointers, while Salter drained 9-of-18 attempts and almost recorded a double-double as he finished with seven rebounds.
The Frogs showed their dominance early on in the contest as Alvardo Parker (South Caicos, Turks & Caicos/Frank Phillips J.C.) notched an easy lay-in 10 seconds into the game to give the Purple and White a 2-0 advantage. Parker along with junior John Ortiz (Cali, Colombia/Colby C.C.) guided the Frogs in the paint as TCU scored 24 of its 40 first-half points in the lane.
The Purple and White notched their biggest lead of the half at 16 points on two occasions when junior Kevin Langford (Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley H.S.) connected on a pair of attempts from the charity stripe to give TCU a 26-10 advantage with 8:08 remaining in the half. A three-pointer by Salter at the 5:35 mark allowed the Frogs to take their second 16-point advantage of the frame at 31-15 en route to cruising into the locker rooms with a 40-28 count.
The Tigers came out roaring in the second half as Grambling State opened up the frame on a 17-9 run to cut the scoring deficit to 49-45 following a jumper by Anthony Williams at the 16:09 mark. However - that's as close as the visiting team would get to the Frogs as TCU proceeded to rally off a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to take 64-49 lead following a three-pointer by Hackett.
The Frogs connected to score in bunches as a three-pointer by Keion Mitchem (Rochester, N.Y./Rochester East H.S.) allowed the home squad to take a 78-54 lead with 6:29 remaining in the game. The Purple and White connected on a season-high 10 three-pointers in the game and have yet to drain less than seven treys in a game during the 2007-08 campaign.
Following a lay-in by Neiman Owens (Channelview, Texas/Channelview H.S.) in the paint at the 3:37 mark, the Frogs were able to take their first 30-plus point advantage at 89-58 and held that margin throughout the remainder of the game as TCU cruised to the 99-67 home victory.
Langford nearly missed a double-double with a 14-point, eight-rebound performance while Ortiz notched a nine-point, nine-rebound evening for the Frogs. Parker finished with eight points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists in 23 minutes of action.
Jason Ebie (Houston, Texas/Alief Elsik H.S.) added a solid evening at the point guard position with a six-assist, four-steal performance, and Owens finished with six points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal in 18 minutes of court time.
The Frogs finished the evening connecting on 49.3 percent (37-of-75) of their field goal attempts while Grambling State notched a 40.0 shooting percentage (26-of-65) in the contest. The Frogs forced the Tigers to commit 19 turnovers, which resulted in a 16-2 advantage for the home squad in points off of turnovers.
The Frogs will leave the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for the first time this season when the Purple and White travels to Lubbock, Texas, for a match-up against Texas Tech on Wednesday (Nov. 27) at the United Spirit Arena. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Quotes from the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Head Coach Neil Dougherty on the Frogs' scoring performance
"I think we are going to score the basketball with much more ease this season. I think we have some people to work with, and there are a lot of people that can make shots for us. We just need to be a little bit more consistent, but we can have a different player lead the team in scoring on any given night."
Dougherty on Henry Salter's scoring performance
"Henry is getting there, and he is playing more relaxed. I think we all know he is a talented kid; we just need to get him more relaxed. Obviously - it takes time, but he got in a rhythm tonight and turned what should have been just a pass ahead into some nice lay-ups."
Dougherty on the team's improvements
"I think we can be a lot better, and we are still doing some things that I don't like. We need to go through some tests, which we will have one coming up against Tech. The next three games will help me learn more about our team."
Henry Salter on his scoring performance
"I just tried to concentrate on making my shots tonight. My teammates were finding me, and I tried to be active on the offensive end and play to the best of my abilities. Coach told me to be more aggressive on the offensive end, and he told me that I have too much potential to not take advantage of it. Really, I tried to come out tonight and be more aggressive and score the ball, which I believe I did."
The Go Frog Five (Notes from the DMC)
- Brent Hackett and Henry Salter became the first set of teammates to both score 20 or more points in a game since Hackett and Kevin Langford reached that feat against Utah on February 3, 2007 - a span of 13 games.
- Daniel Ford (Aledo, Texas/Aledo H.S.) and Nick Metzger (San Antonio, Texas/Reagan H.S.) both scored their first collegiate points against Grambling State. Ford connected on a jumper for a two-point performance while Metzger notched a 1-of-2 shooting performance from the charity stripe.
- The Frogs came into the contest ranked ninth in the nation and first in the State of Texas in rebounds per game with a 49.7 average. The Purple and White finished with 50 rebounds in the game and have grabbed 50 or more boards in three of their first four games this season.
- Every member of the Frogs that saw action in the game notched at least one point in the game.
- The last time that the Frogs started with a 4-0 record was during the 1997-98 season when the Purple and White finished with a 27-6 overall record to go along with a perfect 14-0 record in the Western Athletic Conference. The Frogs also advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season.
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