David Punch delivered 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, Jayden Pierre added 12 points and TCU cruised to a 72-53 victory over Oral Roberts on Thursday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (8-3), winners of six of their last seven, turned in a dominant performance after a closer-than-expected 69-65 victory over Incarnate Word on Monday. They had advantages in rebounds (38-26) points in the paint (40-22) and second-chance points (17-2). As a team, TCU shot 48.2% from the field compared to Oral Roberts’ 38.5%.
TCU controlled the game throughout. In the first half, Pierre started a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer as the Frogs built a 17-6 lead in the first eight minutes. TCU had a couple of 6-0 spurts later in the first half, taking a 38-25 lead into the locker room.
Punch led the way with 12 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Horned Frogs pulled away in the second half, opening on an 11-2 run to take a 49-27 lead with just over 15 minutes left. The stretch included a dunk by Punch.
TCU went on a 7-0 run a few minutes later, extending its lead to 56-31 on a second-chance jumper by Brock Harding with just over 12 minutes left. The 25-point lead was the largest of the night.
Oral Roberts (5-9) dropped to 0-6 on the road this season. Ty Harper, the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer with 16.8 points per game, finished with 16 points and a team-high five rebounds. He was the lone player to reach double figures.
The next leading scorer for the Golden Eagles was Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, who had seven points and three rebounds. Ofri Naveh and Martins Kilups both finished with six.
Up next, TCU hosts Florida A&M on Sunday while Oral Roberts hosts UT Arlington on Monday.
