Field Level Media
Dec 11, 2021
Charles O'Bannon Jr. tied a career high with 18 points Saturday and Damion Baugh hit four free throws in the final seconds as TCU did just enough to beat Texas A&M 68-64 in The Battleground 2K21 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Horned Frogs (8-1) led by 10 points at halftime, but Texas A&M roared back to go in front on a Wade Taylor IV jumper with 6:48 to play. TCU rebuilt a 61-55 advantage before the Aggies' got a free throw by Marcus Williams and a 3-pointer from Hassan Diarra to pull within 61-59.
After a TCU turnover, the Aggies missed a shot and the Horned Frogs' Baugh snatched the rebound and was fouled. Baugh sank both free throws with 25.4 seconds left and hit two more with 15.4 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Emanuel Miller added 13 points for TCU, which has won five straight games. Mike Miles Jr. scored 12 points on just 4 of 14 shooting, and Eddie Lampkin hit for 10 points and took 10 rebounds.
Marcus Williams led the Aggies (7-2) with 16 points, with Quenton Jackson adding 13 for Texas A&M, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Aggies were just 7 of 18 from the free throw line.
The game went back and forth over the first five and a half minutes before the Horned Frogs took a 9-8 lead on a jumper by O'Bannon Jr. at the 14:17 mark of the first half. A steal by Baugh that led to an O'Bannon dunk with 5:25 to play in the half capped a 10-0 run and stoked TCU's advantage to 11 points.
The Horned Frogs led 33-23 at the break while outshooting Texas A&M 46.4 percent to 40 percent and forcing 13 turnovers by the Aggies. O'Bannon and Lampkin led all scorers with 10 points each for TCU as leading scorer Miles went scoreless in the first half.
Radford paced the Aggies with just 6 points. Texas A&M was outrebounded 20-12 in the half.
Texas A&M clawed back to within 35-34 on the strength of a 10-0 second half run that was capped by a bucket by Hassan Diarra six minutes into the half. After a layup by Miles, Jackson drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score with 12:07 remaining, setting the stage for a furious finish.
The Aggies were scheduled to face Tulane on Tuesday but that contest was cancelled earlier Saturday because of multiple positive cases of COVID-19 within the Green Wave's program.
--Field Level Media