TCU Falls at No. 1 Baylor, 68-52

Saturday, February 1

Waco, Texas

3 p.m.

TCU

13-8,4-4Big 12

Baylor

19-1,8-0Big 12

TCU

Baylor

TCU Falls at No. 1 Baylor, 68-52

2/1/2020 6:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bane leads the Frogs with 14 points, all in the second half

WACO, Texas – A late comeback push was stalled by the Baylor defense as the TCU men's basketball team fell to the No. 1 ranked Bears, 68-52, in Waco Saturday afternoon.

The game was tied 17-17 after a Kevin Samuel jumper with eight minutes to play in the first half. The Bears (19-1, 8-0 Big 12) then scored 14 unanswered points to lead 31-17 with 3:34 to play. A 3-pointer by Baylor's Matthew Mayer at the buzzer gave the Bears a 35-24 lead at the half.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Bane drained a 3-pointer just over a minute into the second half for his first points of the game. After trailing by 14 points, Bane scored six-straight points, before a fast-break dunk by P.J. Fuller cut the deficit to just six points, 51-45, with 8:53 to play.

TCU (13-8, 4-4 Big 12) trailed by eight points, 57-49, with 4:43 to play. Despite Bane's 14 second half points, the comeback attempt fell short. The Bears forced the Frogs into three turnovers in the final four minutes and closed the game on a 8-0 run.

Samuel scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and had seven rebounds and six blocks, which tied a career high. Sophomore guard RJ Nembhard had eight points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Up Next
TCU will play at Oklahoma State Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Team Notes
- TCU fell to 84-102 all-time against Baylor.
- TCU fell to 1-1 against top 25 teams this season.
- TCU fell to 1-1 against No. 1 ranked teams under Jamie Dixon.
- TCU allowed a last-second first half basket for the second consecutive game when Matthew Mayer made a 3-pointer. The Frogs trailed 35-24 at the half and fell to 1-7 this season when trailing at the half.
- TCU started with the lineup of Edric Dennis, Desmond Bane, RJ Nembhard, Diante Smith and Kevin Samuel for the third-straight game.

Individual Notes
- Desmond Bane played in his 130th game as a Horned Frog and moved into sole possession of fourth on the all-time list at TCU.
- After behind held scoreless in the first half, Bane recorded a team-high 14 points in the second on 5-of-8 shooting. It was the 18th time this season he's scored in double figures.
- Kevin Samuel scored nine points. He is averaging 14.2 points in his last five games.
- Samuel had a career-high tying six blocked shots, the fourth time this season and the fifth time in his career that he has blocked six shots in a game.
- Samuel's career blocked shot total increased to 136, passing Reggie Smith (133) for fifth on TCU's all-time list for blocks.
- RJ Nembhard grabbed eight rebounds, surpassing his career-high of seven set earlier this season (Lamar, Dec. 14).