Kouat Noi poured in 27 points off the bench and Kevin Samuel scored 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor as Texas Christian dominated the middle 20 minutes of the game on the way to an 87-69 win over Eastern Michigan on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (4-1) fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 this week after losing to Lipscomb on Nov. 20, TCU's first November defeat since 2015, a streak of 18 straight games, which was the second-longest active run among NCAA Division I programs.
TCU led by 11 points at halftime and by 12 with 15:30 to play in the game but ended any notion of an Eastern Michigan comeback with a 19-8 run over the ensuing six minutes to forge a 67-44 advantage.
Jaylen Fisher added 12 points in a reserve role and JD Miller scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs. Alex Robinson made 13 assists, among TCU's 31 overall assists on 34 made baskets.
Boubacar Toure led Eastern Michigan with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul Jackson added 18 points, and Ty Groce had 12 for the Eagles (4-4), who lost their third straight game.
Eastern Michigan scored 11 of the game's first 13 points, but the Horned Frogs answered with a 14-4 run capped by Kendric Davis' layup at the 8:23 mark of the first half to take a 16-15 lead.
TCU built on that run to forge as much as a 12-point margin, at 33-21, with 1:50 to play in the half before settling for a 35-24 lead at intermission.
Fisher scored 9 point off the bench in the half to lead all scorers, as TCU outshot the Eagles 54 percent to 42 percent over the first 20 minutes and earned a 16-2 advantage in bench scoring over Eastern Michigan.
Jackson and Toure hit for eight apiece to lead Eastern Michigan.
TCU concludes its season-opening, six-game homestand on Friday when it hosts Central Michigan. The Eagles stay on the road for a game in Boston on Saturday against Northeastern.
--Field Level Media
Eastern Michigan | Texas Christian | |
Boubacar Toure 20 | Scoring | Kouat Noi 27 |
Damari Parris 7 | Assists | Alex Robinson 13 |
Boubacar Toure 12 | Rebounds | Kevin Samuel 7 |
Paul Jackson 6 | Free Throws Made | JD Miller 5 |
Ty Groce 2 | Steals | Desmond Bane 3 |
James Thompson IV 2 | Blocks | RJ Nembhard 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Eastern Michigan | 69 | 44.8 | 6-18 | 11-16 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
Texas Christian | 87 | 60.7 | 11-26 | 8-13 | 31 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 10 |