Field Level Media
Dec 25, 2018
Alex Robinson scored a team-high 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and TCU held on for an 83-69 win over Indiana State on Tuesday night in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
JD Miller contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Horned Frogs earned their first win on Christmas Day in school history. Kouat Noi (12 points) and Jaylen Fisher (11) also finished in double digits.
TCU (11-1) won its seventh game in a row and knocked off Indiana State for the second time in the past 10 days. The Horned Frogs cruised to a 90-70 win over the Sycamores on Dec. 16.
Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key scored 14 points apiece to lead Indiana State (8-4). Clayton Hughes and Christian Williams added 10 points apiece.
Indiana State tried to keep the score close in the second half when Bronson Kessinger made a reverse layup to trim the deficit to 53-45 with 14:22 remaining. But the Sycamores quickly fell behind by double digits as TCU put together an 18-4 run to go ahead 71-49 with 9:34 left.
Horned Frogs forward Kaden Archie made a steal near midcourt and sprinted for a breakaway dunk to give his team a 22-point lead. Indiana State responded by scoring the next six points and pulling within 75-66 in the last two minutes.
From there, TCU closed the game on an 8-3 run to maintain its hot start to the regular season.
TCU led 40-30 at the half.
The Horned Frogs jumped to a 15-7 lead in the first 10 minutes behind a strong start by Noi, who drilled a 3-pointer and drove to the rim for a dunk on back-to-back possessions.
Indiana State clawed back within three points to 23-20 before TCU reeled off a 9-0 run to regain a comfortable lead. Desmond Bane punctuated the run with a driving layup.
TCU will visit Hawaii Pacific on Friday. Indiana State will have a week off before it visits Loyola Chicago on Jan. 2.
--Field Level Media