Nembhard's Heroics Lift TCU to a 59-58 Win Over UCI

Thursday, November 21

Fort Worth, Texas

7 p.m.

TCU

4-0,0-0Big 12

UC Irvine

3-3,0-0Big West

Team	1	2	F
UC Irvine	22	36	58
TCU	28	31	59

Nembhard's Heroics Lift TCU to a 59-58 Win Over UCI

11/21/2019 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Sophomore guard hits late three to give Jamie Dixon his 400th career win

FORT WORTH – RJ Nembhard's late game heroics helped the TCU men's basketball team win a thriller against UC Irvine, 59-58, Thursday night inside Schollmaier Arena.

Nembhard scored a career-high 20 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.7 second left in the game. With the win, TCU improved to 4-0 on the season and head coach Jamie Dixon earned his 400th career win.

TCU started the game making four of its first six three-point attempts to jump out to a 15-6 lead midway through the first half. The Horned Frogs held the Anteaters (3-3) to a 4-of-20 start from the floor and forced 11 first-half turnovers. TCU took a 28-22 lead to the locker room as Nembhard capped off the half with a steal and slam dunk.

UCI took its first lead of the game, 38-36, with 13:33 remaining. The Frogs did not regain the lead until the late Nembhard three, one of a career-high five for the sophomore guard.

Senior Desmond Bane finished the contest with 11 points and seven rebounds while senior Jaire Grayer scored eight. Senior Edric Dennis was a spark off the bench as he totaled seven points and a game-high six assists. Sophomore Jadeon Ledee scored his first points as a Horned Frog, tallying five points in a career-high 24 minutes of action. Freshman Diante Smith also recorded his first collegiate bucket on jumper in the second half.

Up Next
TCU will travel to Las Vegas, Nev. to face Clemson in the first round of the MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena. Tip is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Team Notes
- The Horned Frogs improved to 4-0 for the third time in four seasons and 22-1 in November in the Jamie Dixon era.
- TCU moved to 1-1 all-time against UC Irvine and 14-7 against Big West Conference opponents.
- TCU and UC Irvine met for the first time since Nov. 26, 1988.
- TCU's 35 percent shooting (21-of-60) from the field was its lowest in a win since Dec. 23, 2015 when TCU shot 29.8 percent from the floor in a 53-49 win at Bradley.
- The Horned Frogs won despite being outrebounded by 16, 44-28. TCU's 28 rebounds were its fewest in a win since grabbing 27 against Nevada in a 84-80 win on Dec. 8, 2017 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
- TCU totaled 10 assists, marking only the third time in the Jamie Dixon era that TCU recorded 10 or less assists in a win.

Individual Notes
- Head Coach Jamie Dixon earned the 400th win of his head coaching career, improving to 400-164 overall and 71-41 at TCU.
- Dixon became just the 11th head coach to reach 400 career wins in 17 seasons and the 48th active NCAA Division I coach with 400 career wins.
- RJ Nembhard led TCU with a career-high 20 points. The sophomore also set career-highs in 3-pointers made (five) and attempted (nine), draining his final attempt for the game-winner with 3.7 seconds remaining.
- Nembhard also added two steals, giving him steals in five consecutive games dating back to last year, the longest streak of his career.
- Desmond Bane scored 11 points, giving him 1,322 points in his career. He passed Bingo Merriex (2000-03) to move to 13th place on TCU's all-time scoring leaderboard.
- Bane also hauled in a team-high seven rebounds. The Horned Frogs are now 8-0 when Bane leads the team in rebounds.
- Bane's 3-pointer early in the first half gave him a made three in 17 of his last 18 games dating back to last season.
- Edric Dennis came off the bench and scored seven points and recorded a game-high six assists.
- Jaedon Ledee scored his first point as a Horned Frog on a free throw in the first half. He finished with five points and two rebounds in a career-high 24 minutes of action.
- On defense, Ledee recorded a team-high and career-high three steals, blocked a shot and took his first charge of the year.
- Diante Smith scored his first collegiate points on a jumper in the second half. He also pulled down a season-high four rebounds.