Trazarien White scored a game-high 14 points as TCU turned a rally down the stretch of the first half into a 71-48 victory over visiting Alcorn State on Tuesday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
White made three 3-pointers and added three steals for the Horned Frogs (4-1), who were without Ernest Udeh Jr. (back) for a second consecutive contest. Brendan Wenzel also hit three 3-pointers and scored nine points while David Punch posted 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Noah Reynolds had a team-high six assists for TCU, which hit 7 of 14 3s in the first half.
Keionte Cornelius tallied a team-high 13 points while Antonio Lisenbee scored eight for the Braves (0-5), who shot 30.4 percent (17 of 56) from the field and made 4 of 13 3-pointers. Alcorn State had 18 turnovers.
The Braves’ promising start fizzled midway through the first half following Daniel Braster’s 3-pointer that cut the TCU advantage to 21-16 at the 9:31 mark. Wenzel responded with consecutive 3s that pushed the Horned Frogs to a 29-18 lead and keyed a 12-2 run that eventually extended that margin to 15 points on Frankie Collins’ layup with 5:43 left in the half.
Alcorn State’s Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt nailed a jumper at the 1:43 mark to end the TCU surge and snap an 0-for-6 drought for the Braves, who went 6:31 without a field goal. Alcorn State missed eight of nine shots to close the half and trailed 39-22 at the intermission paced by Braster’s five points.
The Horned Frogs’ 17-point halftime lead could have been larger had TCU not missed five of nine free throws. That proved to be a minor concern after the Braves missed their opening eight shots of the second half and made their first basket on Djahi Binet’s layup with 14:13 to play. TCU led 46-26 at that juncture, a margin that stretched to 25 points later in the second half.
Gaines-Wyatt scored six points for the Braves but missed 12 of 15 shots.
Reynolds added eight points for TCU and made a pair of 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
