Riding a two-game winning streak in Big 12 play, the TCU Horned Frogs welcomed the Houston Cougars with a chance to secure a marquee victory in front of a rambunctious home crowd. Ultimately, TCU came
up short, playing from behind for most of the night and holding just one lead throughout the contest.
The Cougars scored the first four points of the game before TCU took the lead by scoring the next five. Houston quickly raced back in front and held a slight advantage for the next few minutes. After a Liutauras Lelevicius triple evened the game at 16, the Cougars began to pull away. A Chris Cenac Jr. three-pointer sparked a 12–0 Houston run before Xavier Edmonds finally stopped the bleeding with a layup at the 6:25 mark.
A flurry of Frog points trimmed the Cougars’ 12-point lead to four over the next two minutes, but Houston answered once again. Emanuel Sharp scored the next eight points to restore a double-digit cushion, and the Cougars carried a 43–40 lead into halftime.
The second half opened with two Sharp free throws stemming from a technical foul on Jamie Dixon before halftime, giving Houston a 15-point cushion to start the final 20 minutes. Despite the early deficit, the Frogs came out with purpose, trimming the margin to six within the first five minutes.
Putting their aggressive defense on full display, TCU continued to chip away, eventually cutting the deficit to two following another Lelevicius three-pointer just before the 11-minute mark.
Star freshman Kingston Flemings, however, wouldn’t back down. Flemings scored or assisted on the Cougars’ next 10 points, pushing Houston’s lead to seven as the clock dipped under eight minutes. Following a Cenac Jr. free throw, the Cougars maintained an eight-point cushion for several minutes before a pair of Flemings free throws extended the lead back to 10.
From there, TCU was unable to close the gap. Despite forcing multiple Cougars into foul trouble, poor free-throw shooting hindered the Frogs’ chances. TCU went 11-of-17 from the line in the second half, compared to Houston’s 17-of-19 mark. While the Frogs trimmed the deficit to seven with under two minutes remaining, Houston’s steady execution at the line proved too much to overcome, as the Cougars secured a 79–70 victory.
The Horned Frogs shot a higher percentage from the floor than the Cougars, but a 16-of-25 performance from the free-throw line proved costly. Houston, meanwhile, left few points on the board, converting 22-of-24 free-throw attempts. Much of the box score was nearly identical, save for TCU’s 36 points in the paint compared to Houston’s 20, and the Cougars’ nine made three-pointers to the Frogs’ four.
Edmonds led the way for TCU with 18 points and 10 rebounds, recording his third straight double-double. David Punch added 16 points and six assists, while Brock Harding, Liutauras Lelevicius, and Tanner Toolson chipped in eight points apiece.
Flemings paced the Cougars with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting, knocking down all nine of his free-throw attempts. Sharp followed with 23 points, going 5-of-5 from the line, and fellow freshman Cenac Jr. added eight points and 14 rebounds.
Next up, TCU travels to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m.
