TCU Blasts North Texas, 134-91
2/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT WORTH (Jan. 3) Six TCU players scored in double figures and the Horned Frogs connected on 16 three-pointers as TCU routed North Texas, 134-91, in men's college basketball action Monday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Junior guard Vladimir Jaksic nailed six three-point baskets, including five in the first half, and senior forward Marquise Gainous scored a game-high 27 points as TCU (9-6) raced to its second consecutive blowout victory. The Horned Frogs has scored 277 points over the last two games as TCU followed a 143-110 trouncing of Grambling last Thursday night with another offensive explosion against North Texas (2-8). Freshman guard Bingo Merriex was another major contributor for TCU with five three-point baskets as the Horned Frogs made 53.3 percent (16 of 30) from beyond the arc in the game and made 62 percent of its shots from the field overall.
Deginald Erskin led North Texas with 27 points while Chris Davis had 24 and Jason Miller added a 10-point, 10-rebound performance for the Eagles. For TCU, Myron Anthony added his fourth consecutive double-double performance with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Other leading TCU scorers were Estell Laster with 23 and Merriex with 18.
The Horned Frogs exploded for 45 points in the game's opening 10 minutes to take a commanding 45-23 lead and never looked back. TCU ended up with a 68-51 halftime lead, racking up the second-highest first half scoring total in TCU history and the eighth-highest points total in any half by a TCU team. TCU his 65.89 percent of its shots in the opening period, including a scorching 58.8 percent (10 of 17) from three-point range. Jaksic equalled his career-high in the first half alone with 19 points. As a team, TCU has hit 33 of 61 three-point attempts (54.1 percent) over the last two games.
TCU opens Western Athletic Conference play Thursday night against 23rd ranked Tulsa (13-1) at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in a game to be televised by the ESPN Plus package. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
