TCU 77, Lamar 66: The Mike Miles Show

The TCU men’s basketball team leaned on standout guard Mike Miles Jr. to deliver on the offense end during Friday evening’s nonconference game against Lamar. The talented junior stepped up when the Horned Frogs otherwise struggled to score, dropping a game-high 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range as TCU won 77-66.

It was a season-best offensive performance for the Horned Frogs, who dished out 20 assists and outrebounded Lamar 44-36 in the win. TCU shot 43.5 percent from the field but remained shaky from beyond the arc, finishing 8-for-32 (25 percent) from 3-point land. Emanuel Miller remained steady for the Horned Frogs, recording 12 points along with seven rebounds and six assists while Shahada Wells compiled 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting with six assists off the bench. Eddie Lampkin grabbed a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.

TCU opened the game on an 8-2 run, playing strong defense over the first five minutes. Lamar remained within striking distance throughout the first half, as Jakevion Buckley led the offensive charge and ended the evening with a team-high 22 points. A layup from Chuck O’Bannon and multiple free throws from Miles helped give TCU a 36-27 halftime lead. Back-to-back layups from Xavier Cork and Wells at the start of the second half allowed the Horned Frogs to take their largest lead of the game (40-27) and force a Lamar timeout.

Lamar rallied to bring the Horned Frogs within one point despite a pair of 3-pointers from Miles, who eventually sustained an ankle injury later in the game. TCU answered with two big 3-pointers from Jakobe Coles and O’Bannon to maintain an eight-point advantage (56-48) midway through the second half. The Horned Frogs finished with seven blocks and six steals on the defensive end while edging Lamar 13-14 in turnovers. O’Bannon totaled nine points, four rebounds and three blocks for the Frogs, who improved to 2-1 with the win.