Jaylen Fisher-led TCU rallies past SMU, 67-59

Guard Jaylen Fisher hit five 3-point shots, and the TCU Horned Frogs rallied for a 67-59 road victory Wednesday night against SMU, a longtime rival in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Both Fisher and JD Miller scored 15 points apiece, and Kouat Noi had 12, to lead the Horned Frogs.

SMU controlled the game early, pushing out to a 10-point lead midway throuogh the first half.

The Mustangs led by six at halftime, but the Horned Frogs stormed from behind with Fisher and Miller leading the way.

Fisher hit four of his five threes after intermission. SMU, meanwhile, shot 24 percent from the field in the second half.

“As a coach, you never fault that unless guys were just playing selfish, which I don’t think we did at all. We had some really good shots that didn’t go in,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich told the Associated Press.

Senior guard Jahmal McMurray led the Mustangs with 19 points.

Records

TCU 6-1
SMU 6-4

Notable

Both Fisher and Noi have played four games since returning from knee injuries. Fisher had been out since last January.

Quotable

“I liked how we did it, because we gutted it out, grinded it out. We didn’t make shots early, and got it done with our defense. Just got it done by finding a way,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon told the AP.

TCU improves to 11-0 with win over Texas Southern

JD Miller scored 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting Monday night, helping undefeated and 15th-ranked TCU to break away in the second half for a 91-72 victory over winless Texas Southern.

Vladimir Brodziansky (in the photo, above) added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Frogs (11-0).

Guard Demontrae Jefferson poured in 29 for the Tigers (0-12) in the game played on TCU’s home floor in Fort Worth.

The Tigers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference stayed with the Big 12 powerhouse for a half, trailing by only two at intermission.

Texas Southern traded baskets with the home team early in the second half before TCU constructed a 10-0 run to open up a 53-43 lead.

The Tigers never got closer than five the rest of the way, with the Frogs pushing the lead to 25 down the stretch.

TCU remains as one of four unbeaten teams in the nation, joining No. 1 Villanova, No. 3 Arizona State and No. 6 Miami.

The Horned Frogs will play Friday at home against William and Mary before opening Big 12 play Dec. 30 at home against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas 47, Tennessee State 46

The Texas Longhorns hit a clutch shot with 11 seconds remaining Monday night, escaping with a 47-46 victory over the Tennessee State Tigers.

Matt Coleman’s runner allowed Texas (8-3) to avert disaster against Tennessee State (5-5) of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Tigers, on their last possession, missed a wild three with the clock running down.

With the victory, Texas improved to 2-1 since they lost leading scorer Andrew Jones to a wrist injury.

No. 14 Kansas 109, Omaha 64

Svi Mykhailiuk tied his career high with six 3-pointers and scored 26 points as Kansas routed Omaha 109-64 Monday night.

Mykhailiuk hit the winning shot in the Jayhawks’ 73-72 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln on Saturday night.

Kansas, who have won 13 Big 12 regular season titles in a row, had lost two straight leading into the Nebraska game.

They Jayhawks (9-2) will now take a two-game winning streak on the road to play Stanford in California on Thursday.

It’s the last non-conference game for Kansas before it opens Big 12 play on Dec. 29 at Texas.