Emanuel Miller scored 21 points to guide TCU to a high-scoring, 93-81 win over West Virginia on Wednesday night in Morgantown, W.Va.
Miller, who shot 8 of 13 from the field, paced TCU (20-10, 9-8 Big 12) to its second victory of the season over the Mountaineers, as the Horned Frogs shot 55.6 percent. TCU, aided by 17 points from Jameer Nelson Jr. and 16 points from Micah Peavy, is now 6-5 on the road.
West Virginia (9-21, 4-13) dropped its fourth straight game and closed the season 9-9 at home. Jesse Edwards had a game-high 36 points in the loss.
TCU opened the first half red hot, getting out to a 12-2 lead by the 15:40 mark on a 3-pointer from Chuck O’Bannon. The Horned Frogs’ scoring gained the advantage, and the defensive effort early on maintained the separation. West Virginia cut the deficit to seven points with 12:47 left, but TCU answered with consecutive scores, extending the lead back to double digits at 23-12 with 11:56 left in the half.
A 7-0 run midway that began a minute later half put TCU up by 16, 30-14, and with 6:22 left, O’Bannon took advantage of a West Virginia turnover to score on a layup. That resulted in a 20-point lead for the first time in the contest, and the Horned Frogs led by as many as 23 before the Mountaineers, paced by Quinn Slazinski’s five straight points, closed the half on a 7-2 run with TCU leading 53-38.
TCU held control for the first 13 minutes of the second half, leading by at least 13 points through that span.
But the signs of a West Virginia comeback were still visible. At the 10-minute mark, Edwards converted on a free throw, cutting the Horned Frogs’ advantage to 73-60. Then with 6:27 on the clock, Josiah Harris successfully completed a three-point play to cap a 5-0 Mountaineers run and bring the home crowd back into it. That put TCU’s lead at 11, 79-68, and twice in the final 3:07 of the game the Mountaineers came within 10 points of tying the score.
TCU held firm, however, answering with a 6-0 run coming on the heels of an Edwards layup. The spurt pushed the advantage back to 16, as the Horned Frogs earned their first road win since Feb. 17.
–Field Level Media