The TCU Horned Frogs have fallen to 1–3 in conference play following a hard-fought 76–70 loss to the No. 11 BYU Cougars. BYU needed a late push to fend off the Horned Frogs, who controlled much of the contest.
TCU started strong, scoring efficiently and defending hellaciously. It took the Cougars until the 10:19 mark to tie the game for the first time at 16. Potential No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa then gave BYU its first lead a few possessions later with a layup. A pair of Richie Saunders free throws pushed the Cougars to their largest lead of the half at four—but it didn’t last.
TCU responded with an 8–0 run, sparked by former Cougar Tanner Toolson, who scored five of the eight points against his old squad.
A quick BYU run allowed the Cougars to retake the lead, but once again, TCU answered, scoring the next five points. In a physical game with a tight whistle, the Frogs closed the half by earning trips to the charity stripe, scoring five of their final 12 points at the line, with four coming from Xavier Edmonds. At halftime, TCU held a six-point advantage, limiting BYU to 28.1 percent shooting from the field and just 9.1 percent from beyond the arc.
TCU started the second half strong, as Edmonds drilled a three to give the Frogs a nine-point cushion almost immediately. Nonetheless, the Cougars began mounting a comeback behind Dybantsa, who poured in 17 points over the first 10 minutes. By the 10:06 mark, BYU had flipped the script and taken a 57–50 lead.
But much like the first half, TCU answered every push. The Frogs tied the game at 63 before a Liutauras Lelevicius three and a Micah Robinson layup swung momentum back in their favor.
The final minutes turned into a back-and-forth affair, with Rob Wright III’s layup at the 3:36 mark finally putting BYU back in front. Wright III followed with two free throws, and a Richie Saunders three-pointer pushed the Cougars’ lead to seven with 2:14 remaining. A Brock Harding jumper and a forced turnover gave TCU one last chance, down six, but Harding’s potential triple rattled out. BYU added three more points before a late Lelevicius cut trimmed the final margin to six as time expired.
Despite holding BYU to just 35.3 percent shooting from the field, the Frogs couldn’t secure the victory. The Cougars also struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 20.8 percent, but made up for it at the free-throw line, where they scored 23 points. Additionally, BYU notched 21 offensive rebounds, leading to 24 second-chance points that helped offset a subpar shooting night.
TCU shot 41.0 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from three, but converted just 12 free throws and finished with only 11 second-chance points.
Dybantsa, Saunders, and Wright III combined for 58 of BYU’s 76 points. Dybantsa led the way with 25 points on 22 shots, while Saunders added 15, 13 of which came in the second half. Wright III finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Xavier Edmonds paced TCU with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Micah Robinson was the only other Frog to reach double figures, scoring 10.
Up next, TCU breaks its streak against ranked opponents with a matchup against the Utah Utes on Saturday, January 17, at 1:00 p.m. CT.
