Glimmer of Hope: TCU Storms Back to Beat Oklahoma State, 63-56

There's a sliver of light behind all of those dark clouds after all.

After what was one of the team's worst halves of the season, the Frogs turned on the jets in second half, outscoring Oklahoma State by 13 over the final 20:00 to claim a 63-56 victory. The win snapped a seven-game Big 12 losing streak for TCU and moved the Frogs into a tie (with Oklahoma State) for 9th place in the league.

Brandon Parrish led the Frogs with 15 points, including a clutch basket with just under a minute to go that sealed the deal for TCU. Parrish finished the day 6/10 from the field with four rebounds. Three other Frogs finished the game in double-figures. Next up was Chauncey Collins, who added 13 points thanks to a 3/4 effort from behind the arc. Malique Trent filled his stat line, dropping 12 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. He also finished with five turnovers and four fouls.

Chris Washburn added another 10 points on 4/7 shooting from the field. JD Miller led the charge off the bench, scoring seven points thanks to a 4/4 effort at the free throw line. As a team, TCU finished the game 22/50 overall, 7/17 from deep, and 12/19 at the line. The Frogs picked up the win despite 12 turnovers, 15 fouls, and a -12 margin in the rebounding department.

For Oklahoma State, Leyton Hammonds led the charge with 16 points and four rebounds. Tyree Griffin and Jeffrey Carroll were the only other double-digit scorers, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively. The Pokes shot 39.1% from the field, including just 8/24 from long range.

Travis Ford was without his top offensive weapon as Jawun Evans missed his second straight game after suffering a shoulder injury against Texas Tech last week. The Frogs were without top rebounder Karviar Shepherd, who is still healing from a lingering back injury.

The first half was a display of collegiate basketball the likes of which was more fitting to be used as a form of capital punishment rather than nationally-televised entertainment. TCU and Oklahoma State combined to shoot 14/40 from the field, committing 21 turnovers and 16 fouls. The two teams spent more than six minutes tied at eight. At one point, the Frogs and Pokes had combined for 15 turnovers and 16 points.

At the break, TCU trailed 25-19. The Frogs were 7/27 from the field, including 1/8 from behind the arc. The team had a stretch of over eight minutes without a made field goal. For the second straight game, the Frogs' opponent had more rebounds at the half than TCU had points. In this case, OSU grabbed 23 rebounds while TCU managed just 19 points.

The second half couldn't have been more different. The Frogs jumped out of the gate, hitting 12 of their first 14 shots from the field, including 6/7 from behind the arc. In the blink of an eye, a six point deficit was a six point lead. The Cowboys were a wounded animal, and the Frogs pounced. TCU finished the second frame 15/23 from the field, a red-hot 65.2%.

The win breathes some life into a Horned Frogs squad that had fallen into a pretty significant rut as of late. With the seven-game Big 12 losing streak now history, the Frogs find themselves 2-9 in league play with seven games to go. The victory marked the program's eighth league win since joining the conference in 2012. All-time the Frogs are now 8-57 against Big 12 opponents in the regular season.

Next up for TCU is a road date with the 10th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. Tipoff for Saturday's contest is set for 11:00 am from the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.