Mike Miles poured in a career-high-tying 28 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds as TCU remained perfect at home with a 76-62 win over Utah on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (7-1) led by nine points at halftime and by 12 early in the second half and rode Miller, JaKobe Coles and Emanuel Miller over the final 17 minutes to hold fast Utah. The Utes never got closer to the lead than seven points after the 17:13 mark.
Coles added 10 points for TCU, all after halftime. Miller also hit for 10 points in the win, the fourth straight for the Horned Frogs.
Branden Carlson and Both Gach led Utah with 16 points each. The Utes (6-3) have lost three of their past four games.
Miles scored the first seven points of the game for TCU -- and 10 of the first 12 over the first six minutes -- but the Horned Frogs trailed by as many as six points in the early going.
The game was tied at 22 after a layup by Utah's Lahat Thioune with 7:08 to play in the half before TCU forged an 11-0 run, with four points by Damion Baugh and three from Miles in the spurt, to assume a 33-22 lead with 2:45 to play in the half.
The Horned Frogs led 36-27 at the break behind 15 points from Miles and scrambling defense that kept Utah to just 37.9 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes of play.
Gach paced the Utes with seven points but Utah was 0 for 8 from beyond the arc by halftime.
TCU pushed its lead to 12 points four minutes into the second half and then again at 54-42 with 12:12 to play in the game. The Utes were doomed by a more than four-minute scoreless stretch beginning with about nine minutes left in the game when they went 0 of 5 from the floor.
--Field Level Media
Utah | Texas Christian | |
Branden Carlson 16 | Scoring | Mike Miles 28 |
Rollie Worster 5 | Assists | Damion Baugh 5 |
Branden Carlson 9 | Rebounds | Mike Miles 8 |
Branden Carlson 6 | Free Throws Made | Mike Miles 7 |
Marco Anthony 1 | Steals | Damion Baugh 2 |
Branden Carlson 6 | Blocks | Micah Peavy 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 62 | 33.9 | 3-20 | 21-25 | 13 | 33 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
Texas Christian | 76 | 44.8 | 5-18 | 11-14 | 18 | 39 | 6 | 5 | 6 |