Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
TCU
Rams fall to TCU in MWC opener
1/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2009
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU scored on six of its first seven possessions at the start of the second half to build a double-digit lead it would never relinquish en route to an 81-67 win over Colorado State on Saturday night at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in the opening Mountain West conference game for both teams.
The Horned Frogs (9-5, 1-0 MWC) scored 22 of the first 29 points of the second half, which gave them a 56-38 lead with 13:08 remaining in the game. CSU (5-10, 0-1 MWC) would make several small charges late in the second half and got within 11 points on four occasions, including 78-67 with 1:04 remaining in the game, but could not claw all the way back.
"They made a run to start the second half and that gave them the momentum," said Head Coach Tim Miles. "After that opening run, we started to get that `oh no' feeling and they built a four-point lead up to 10 and then kept extending it."
Willis Gardner scored a career-high 23 points for the Rams as he went 8-10 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line while also adding a pair of rebounds. It marked his third game in his last four with at least 14 points. During that stretch, he has averaged 14.7 points per game.
"Losing affects Willis," said Miles. "When he loses, it's like part of his heart has been ripped out. When things got tough tonight, we had Willis smacking back. When this team has 15 Willis Gardner's running around, we will be alright."
Marcus Walker added 16 points off the bench for the Rams while Jesse Carr added a career-high five assists.
TCU entered the game averaging 5.6 three-pointers made per game (last in the MWC) but nearly doubled its average as it connected on 10-25 from beyond the arc in the game to build its lead. The Horned Frogs connected on 65 percent (17-26) from the field in the second half and shot 54 percent (29-54) for the game.
The Horned Frogs had three players score over 15 points, with Keion Mitchem leading the way with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Zvonko Buljan added 18 and Kevin Langford chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds for TCU, which moved to 7-1 at home this season.
During the middle of the first half, the two teams went back and forth with three big runs. An 8-0 TCU burst gave the Frogs a 13-10 lead before the Rams answered by scoring 11 of the next 12 points to take the biggest lead of the first half - a seven-point advantage (21-14) with 8:18 left in the opening session. TCU would strike back immediately with a 13-2 run of its own that gave it a 27-23 lead with just over 4 minutes remaining in the opening period. The Frogs extended their lead to 34-29 before a Gardner jumper at the first-half buzzer brought CSU within three points at 34-31 at halftime.
After nearly one month away from Moby Arena, the Rams will return to their home floor on Saturday when they play host to BYU at 1 p.m. MST.
The Cougars, currently 11-2, are receiving votes in both of the Division I national polls.
Tickets are available by calling 1-800/491-RAMS, or logging onto CSURams.com.
