TCU Dominant to End Decade

Monday, December 30

Fort Worth, Texas

8 p.m.

TCU

9-3,0-0Big 12

George Mason

11-2,0-0Atlantic 10

George Mason

TCU

TCU Dominant to End Decade

12/30/2019 10:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Bane Scores 30 in TCU Route

FORT WORTH – Desmond Bane's 21 first half points fueled the TCU men's basketball team to an 87-53 win over George Mason Monday to close out its non-conference slate.

Bane caught fire and surpassed his season-high, scoring 30 points on an efficient 12-of-16 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. It contributed to TCU's season-high 57.9 percent shooting from the field and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from 3-point range.

TCU (9-3) opened the game on a 10-0 run, holding George Mason (11-2) scoreless for nearly five and a half minutes. As a team, the Horned Frogs looked sharp in the first half as they shot 62.1 percent from the field and outscored the Patriots 48-26.

The offense continued to roll for the Frogs in the second half. PJ Fuller came off the bench and put up 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Francisco Farabello was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field in the game and collected eight points.

TCU's defense only surrendered two field goals in the final 10:38 of regulation and held the Patriots to a 32.7 shooting percentage. It was Mason's lowest point total of the season.

Kevin Samuel tied a career-high with six blocked shots and recorded seven points and seven rebounds.

Up Next
TCU will open up Big 12 Conference play when it hosts Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Team Notes
- The game was the first meeting between TCU and George Mason.
- TCU moved to 7-17 all-time against teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference.
- The Horned Frogs moved to 20-5 in December games and 38-3 against non-conference opponents at Schollmaier Arena under Dixon.
- TCU started with the lineup of Edric Dennis Jr., Desmond Bane, RJ Nembhard, Jaire Grayer and Kevin Samuel for the sixth consecutive game (4-2).
- TCU outrebounded George Mason 38-28. The Frogs improved to 8-1 this season, 67-19 under Dixon and 76-19 since the 2015-16 season when outrebounding their opponent.
- TCU shot 57.9 percent from the field, its highest of the season.
- The Frogs shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from beyond-the-arc, the second-most in the Dixon era and the most since shooting 58.8 percent at Kansas State on Feb. 1, 2017.

Individual Notes
- Kevin Samuel tied a career-best with six blocks. He's had six blocks three times in his career, the last was against Louisiana this season on Nov. 12.
- Desmond Bane posted a season-high 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc. It was Bane's third-career 30 point game.
- This marked the third time this season and eighth time of his career that Bane has connected on five or more 3-pointers in a game.
- Bane's 30 points tied for the second-most by a Big 12 player this season.
- Bane's 12 field goals were the second-most in his career and the second-most by a player in the Dixon era.
- Bane made his 94th career start moving him into a tie for seventh place with Karviar Shepherd and Larry Frevert for the most games started in a Horned Frog uniform.
- Jaire Grayer finished the game with five points and six rebounds against his former team.
- Diante Smith recorded a career-high eight points on 3-5 shooting off the bench.