FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 14 TCU was anxious to get back on the court after nearly being upset in its season opener vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff.
There was far less drama in the Horned Frogs’ 77-64 win over Lamar, but the comfortable margin wasn’t enough to erase all the questions that emerged from the one point over the Golden Lions.
The first half was close with Lamar hanging on as TCU struggled from the 3-point line and had to deal with forward Emanuel Miller in foul trouble.
TCU started nicely in the second half, jumping out a 43-30 lead after a Mike Miles 3-pointer with over 18 minutes to play. The Horned Frogs were starting to show why they were so highly ranked in the preseason, but that didn’t last long as Lamar scrapped back to make it a one-point game behind scrappy guards Chris Pryor and Jakevion Buckley.
The Horned Frogs responded with timely 3-pointers by JaKobe Coles and Chuck O’Bannon to go back up 56-48. TCU finally gained separation in the final five minutes as back-to-back transition baskets from Shahada Wells and Miller made it 71-57 with just 3:11 remaining.
Miles delivered the dagger as he tossed a perfect alley-oop to Miller that made it 75-64 with 1:10 to go.
It was still far from a dominating performance you would expect from a top-15 team, but a clear improvement from the season opener.
A more aggressive miles
After the narrow win over UAPB, Miles was surprised during the postgame media when he learned he only took eight shots against the Golden Lions. A lack of shots wouldn’t be a problem against the Cardinals as Miles came out clearly on a mission.
In the first half Miles played like a running back attacking the hole as constantly drove head first into the paint to attack the Lamar defense. He landed hard on the ground a few times, but wouldn’t let the physicality deter him. Miles scored six points in a row late in the first half including a nice pull-up jumper that made it 28-23 with 4:49 remaining before halftime.
Miles stayed aggressive after scoring 18 in the first half as he knocked down two 3-pointers against the Lamar zone defense. The preseason Big 12 Player of the Year finished with 26 points.
Shahada the spark plug
With Damion Baugh still suspended for signing with an uncertified agent in the offseason, Wells has had to step up and he contributed key moments throughout the game.
Like when the Cardinals only trailed 28-25 with less than five minutes before halftime. Wells hit a massive 3-pointer that sparked a 12-2 tun that carried over into the second half. Or when he had a highlight play to Miller as he tossed the forward a no-look pass that he finished off with a dunk.
Wells gave TCU a 40-27 lead after forcing a steal and finishing the layup in transition less than 60 seconds into the second half. He finished with 10 points and added six assists as he showed he could be a capable secondary ballhandler going forward.
A new starting lineup
After struggling against Arkansas Pine Bluff, Dixon decided to switch things up as he inserted Oklahoma State transfer Rondel Walker and Xavier Cork into the starting lineup in place of Wells and Eddie Lampkin. The unit started fine with Cork scoring the first basket of the game on a putback shot.
Lampkin checked in less than four minutes into the game and was engaged despite surprising many TCU fans by coming off the bench. After Lamar briefly took a one-point lead early in the first half, Lampkin helped put the Horned Frogs back in front as his transition layup that he finished with a finger roll made it 14-11 and forced a Lamar timeout.
Cork was productive with four points and seven rebounds, but Walker went just one of six from the floor. Lampkin still ended up playing the most minutes at center and finished with six points, nine rebounds and a block.
