TCU
10-10,1-4
BYU
18-1, 4-0
Frogs Hang Tough, Fall to No. 9 BYU
1/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
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PROVO, Utah—Junior guard Ronnie Moss scored a game-high 27 points, but the effort wasn't enough as TCU fell to No. 9 BYU on Saturday, 83-67, at the Cougars' Marriott Center.
The setback dropped TCU's season record to 10-10 overall and 1-4 in Mountain West Conference play. BYU improved to 18-1 overall and 4-0 in the MWC.
Moss led a gritty TCU effort by playing one of the best games of his career. He matched a season high in points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding six rebounds. Perhaps more impressive than his offensive numbers was his effort on the defensive end against BYU guard Jimmer Fredette, the nation's scoring leader. Moss held Fredette to 21 points, more than five points below his season average, on only 6-of-16 shooting. Seven of his points came at the free-throw line.
Sophomore forward Garlon Green also reached double figures with 10 points. Junior guard Hank Thorns totaled a game-high 10 assists while leading the Frogs in rebounding for the first time this season with seven boards. Thorns reached double digits in helpers for the fifth time this season. Junior guard J.R. Cadot added nine points and three assists.
Fredette led a balanced BYU offensive attack featuring five players in double figures. Guard Jackson Emery drilled 5-of-7 shots from outside the arc to help account for his 17 points, while forwards Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Guard Kyle Collinsworth totaled 10 and matched Hartsock and Davies with a game-high nine rebounds.
BYU shot lights-out in the first half to put TCU in a big hole early. After the Frogs scored the first bucket on a Moss layup, the Cougars exploded for a 25-5 run to lead by a score of 25-7 just over nine minutes into the game. The squad hit four 3-pointers in the stretch, including two by Fredette.
Despite the large early deficit, TCU did not quit, responding with nine straight points over the next minute to cut the lead back to single digits, 25-16. Moss scored seven on a 3-pointer and a pair of layups.
BYU followed by scoring 16 of the game's next 21 points to extend the lead back out to 20 points, 41-21, with just over four minutes remaining. The Cougars continued to bomb away from beyond the arc with two by Emery, and the squad finished the half 6-of-11 overall from outside. BYU finished the first half 18-of-33 from the field overall in the period, good for 54.5 percent.
Trailing by 17 at intermission, 47-30, TCU came out firing in the second half. The squad was able to trim the lead to only 12 points early in the stanza with the help of three consecutive 3-pointers by senior forward Nikola Gacesa, senior guard Greg Hill and Moss. BYU then starting attacking the basket, forcing its way to the free throw line to keep the Frogs at bay down the stretch. The Cougars went 16-of-19 at the stripe in the period and finished the contest 21-of-26.
TCU finished the second half outscoring the Cougars by a 37-36 count in the period. After breaking the 50.0 percent barrier in the first half, the Frogs limited BYU to only 40.9 percent in the second stanza. Despite TCU's second-half success, the Cougars still finished the game shooting 49.1 percent from the field compared to only 38.5 percent for the Frogs. TCU was able to take care of the basketball, committing only 11 turnovers on the evening, its second-lowest figure away from Fort Worth this season.
TCU next returns to Fort Worth for a Saturday matchup against Utah at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The contest, set to tip off at 5 p.m. CT, will be televised live by the MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.).
