Emanuel Miller poured in 16 points and Jakobe Coles added a career-high 15 as short-handed No. 15 TCU rolled to a 95-60 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (3-1) bounced back from a home loss to Northwestern State on Monday via a dominating first half.
TCU scored the first five points of the game and was up 12-2 after a jumper by Miller with 16:41 to play in the half. A 3-pointer by Chuck O’Bannon with 4:41 left before halftime stoked the Horned Frogs’ advantage to 44-17 on the way to a 53-26 lead at the break.
TCU rode its success in the first half and built on it, expanding the advantage to 88-50 when Coles hit a layup with 4:48 to play before emptying the bench down the stretch with the win well in hand.
Micah Peavy added 12 points for the Horned Frogs, who shot 53.1 percent from the floor and made 10 of its 20 shot from beyond the arc. TCU has made only 18.9 percent of its 3-point tries through its first three games of the season. O’Bannon had 11 points before being ejected from the game for a flagrant foul just before halftime.
TCU played without Mike Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, because of an ankle injury. The Horned Frogs are also without guard Damion Baugh, who served the fourth of a six-game suspension for signing with an NBA-certified agent after last season.
The Warhawks (2-2) were led by Tyreke Locure’s 14 points while Nika Metskhvarishvili and Jamari Blackmon had nine each. Louisiana-Monroe shot 30.3 percent on field-goal attempts and had just six assists in the game.
TCU returns to action against Cal on Nov. 25 to open the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. Louisiana-Monroe will visit Louisiana Tech on Monday.
–Field Level Media