TCU
9-5
Tulsa
7-6
Frogs Drop Tight Battle at Tulsa
12/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2010
TULSA, Okla.—TCU erased a double-figure deficit in the second half, but a couple key 3-pointers late by Tulsa proved too much during a 69-66 Horned Frog setback Thursday at the Golden Hurricanes' Reynolds Center.
The loss dropped TCU to 9-5 overall, while Tulsa improved to 7-6. The Frogs fell to 1-2 on the road this season.
Senior forward Nikola Gacesa gave TCU a two-point edge on a big 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining before Tulsa took control of the contest. A 10-2 Hurricane run followed, highlighted by 3-pointers from guards Justin Hurtt and Scottie Haralson and a pair of 2-for-2 efforts at the free-throw line by Hurtt. Hurtt's final trip to the line gave Tulsa a six-point edge with only 26 seconds remaining.
TCU junior guard Sammy Yeager followed with a trey of his own to cut the deficit to a single possession with 22 seconds left, but Tulsa iced the win at the line with a perfect 6-of-6 showing down the stretch.
Junior guard Ronnie Moss once again led TCU in scoring with 19 points. He went 6-of-19 from the field and 6-of-6 at the free-throw line and now is only four points shy of becoming the 30th member of TCU's 1,000-point club.
Senior guard Greg Hill posted his best outing of the season with 12 points. He went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, including one that gave the Frogs their largest lead of the game of three points with 5:25 remaining. Junior guard J.R. Cadot totaled six points and a team-high six rebounds.
Hurtt, who was named Dick Vitale's National Player of the Week earlier this week, led Tulsa with a game-high 23 points. He made 3-of-7 shots from 3-point range and 6-of-6 free throws. Forward Steven Idlet also broke the 20-point barrier with a double-double featuring 22 points and a game-high 14 boards. Guard Scottie Haralson added 16 points and combined with Hurtt to drill seven 3-pointers on 16 attempts.
Neither team lit up the nets Thursday, as both squads shot 22-of-62 from the field (35.5 percent), although each took care of the ball. TCU finished with a season-low five turnovers, four fewer than their previous best total, while Tulsa had only eight.
TCU trailed by 10 points midway through the second half before rallying. A 14-2 run capped by a pair of free throws by Moss with 6:09 remaining gave the Frogs their first lead of the game. Hill keyed the stretch with his second trey, while sophomore forward Nikola Cerina added an old-fashioned 3-point play. Hill hit another 3-ball from way outside the arc moments later after Tulsa tied the game to give TCU its largest lead at three points with 5:26 remaining.
The score was tied at the half, 25-25, but Tulsa took control of the contest to start the second period. The Hurricane opened the half on a 12-2 run, holding TCU to only a Cadot putback in the first six-plus minutes of the stanza.
Both teams struggled to find much offense in the first half after Tulsa stormed out of the game by hitting four of its first six attempts from 3-point range. The Hurricane built a nine-point lead just over eight minutes into the contest, 18-9, before the Frogs clamped down on defense. Tulsa made only four of its final 26 shots in the period and finished the half shooting only 26.5 percent.
Feeding off its defensive intensity, TCU responded by tying the game with a 10-1 run ignited by a Hill's first trey of the evening. Moss also added a 3-pointer, and junior forward Garlon Green capped the stretch by going coast-to-coast for a layup that pushed the score to 19-19 with 8:21 remaining in the half.
Yeager sent the teams into halftime tied at 25-25 with a drive and slam at the 1:27 mark.
TCU continues its two-game road trip Sunday, Jan. 2, when it travels to Houston to take on Rice. Tip-off from the Owls' Tudor Fieldhouse has been set for 3 p.m.
