JaKobe Coles sank a floater in the lane with 1.5 seconds left to deliver sixth-seeded TCU a thrilling 72-70 victory over 11th-seeded Arizona State in first-round NCAA Tournament West Region action on Friday in Denver.
The Horned Frogs (22-12) trailed for most of the second half before ending the game on a 15-5 run fueled by an injured Mike Miles Jr., Damion Baugh and Coles. TCU will play No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the second round on Sunday.
Baugh rattled home a corner 3-pointer for TCU to tie the game for the second time of the second half, 67-67, with 1:50 to play. Neither team scored again until Baugh made two foul shots with 34 seconds left. TCU’s Xavier Cork blocked Frankie Collins’ layup attempt, and Miles went just 1 of 2 from the line to increase the Horned Frogs’ lead to three.
That allowed the Sun Devils’ DJ Horne the opportunity to tie the game 70-70 on a straightaway 3-pointer.
TCU had 12.4 seconds left to get the last shot. Coles received a pass behind the arc, he made a move right and drove in to get his floater.
“I knew they was probably gonna double Mike (Miles Jr.) and I was the second option,” Coles said on the TV broadcast. “My shot was really flat today and I knew I was trying to get that last one a little bit in the air.”
Arizona State neglected to use the final timeout it had, instead missing a heave from well beyond half-court.
Miles scored a game-best 26 points, 16 coming in the first half before he appeared to aggravate a right knee he hyperextended earlier this season. Chuck O’Bannon had 15 points and Baugh and Coles finished with 11 apiece.
Horne went 4-for-5 from the arc en route to a team-high 17 points for Arizona State (23-13), which had throttled Nevada in the First Four to reach the round of 64. Warren Washington had 11 points and a team-leading eight rebounds, and Desmond Cambridge Jr. scored 10 points.
The Sun Devils fell behind early but took their first lead at 20-19 on Luther Muhammad’s triple with 9:55 left in the half.
Arizona State took two four-point leads before Miles tried to wrest back momentum with a fastbreak dunk off Miller’s steal. But Alonzo Gaffney pushed Miles in the back, causing him to land awkwardly and eventually hobble toward the tunnel in pain.
Miles subbed back in before the end of the half but was clearly limited by the pain.
“Shoutout to our trainer Matt (Herrill), man. He got me right,” Miles said of playing through pain. “Got us in the locker room, I had something to calm down, get back out here, and I was gonna go back regardless. I wanted to help my team. This is a big tournament, I’m a big-time player, so that’s what it’s about.”
Horne made a 3-pointer and Gaffney made one free throw to lift Arizona State to a 44-37 halftime edge.
The Sun Devils were up by 11 with 16:34 to go before the Horned Frogs rallied.
–Field Level Media
