The Horned Frogs outscored the Rattlers 56-28 in the second half.
It was a tale of two halves for the TCU Horned Frogs in the team’s final game before Christmas. In a matchup against the Florida A&M Rattlers, the Frogs came out about as sluggishly as possible. Box score watchers might have thought their app wasn’t working, as it took TCU nearly three minutes to score its first points and more than three and a half minutes to record its first field goal.
TCU didn’t take its first lead against KenPom’s 341st-ranked team until the 13:21 mark, and it didn’t last long. Florida A&M responded with five straight points to reclaim a 16–12 advantage as the clock dipped under 10 minutes. The Rattlers held the lead for the rest of the half, pushing it to as many as seven while the Frogs went ice cold. TCU went scoreless from the 7:38 mark to 1:58, stuck at 17 points.
The first half ended with the Frogs trailing 28–24—its lowest-scoring half of the season.
Nothing seemed to go right for the Horned Frogs in the first 20 minutes, save for a late spark from sophomore RJ Jones, who subbed in at the 1:58 mark and scored TCU’s final five points of the half. Desperate for a jumpstart, Jamie Dixon turned to Jones to open the second half in place of Tanner Toolson.
The decision paid off. TCU poured in 13 points over the first four minutes of the half, six of which came from Jones.
As TCU’s offense began to find life, its defense held firm. The Horned Frogs outscored the Rattlers 26–12 over the first 10 minutes of the second half, and the bleeding didn’t stop there. Xavier Edmonds ignited his onslaught after the 10-minute mark, scoring nine points over the next five minutes of action.
After an Edmonds three-pointer with under five minutes remaining, TCU hit the 70-point mark and built a commanding 70–44 lead. From there, the Horned Frogs cruised, firing on all cylinders. TCU outscored Florida A&M 56–28 in the second half to secure an 80–65 victory.
Edmonds led all scorers with a season-high 21 points. Jones added a career-high 14 points, including four three-pointers in just 16 minutes. David Punch and Micah Robinson contributed 10 points apiece. Jaquan Sanders paced the Rattlers with 16 points, while Tyler Shirley chipped in 13.
After shooting 25.0 percent in the first half, TCU caught fire in the second, shooting 56.3 percent while converting 18 of 32 field goals and 7 of 14 from beyond the arc. Florida A&M hovered around 43.0 percent for the game and played relatively mistake-averse basketball but couldn’t control the glass or slow the Horned Frogs after halftime.
TCU will be off for eight days before hosting the Jackson State Tigers on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7:00 p.m. CT.
Category: General Sports
