MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Kevin Samuel and TCU had been bludgeoning Kansas State on the offensive glass all night.
Made perfect sense thats where the Horned Frogs would ultimately beat the Wildcats.
Their bruising sophomore center deftly tipped in RJ Nembhards errant floater with 1.7 seconds remaining Tuesday night, moments after the Wildcats had hit a 3-pointer at the other end to tie the game, and that allowed the Horned Frogs to escape from a stunned Bramlage Coliseum with an ugly 59-57 victory.
Big thing for us and its always been offensive rebounding is a big part of everywhere Ive been, said TCU coach Jamie Dixon, whose team pulled down a whopping 15 offensive rebounds. I mean, Kevin was terrific and has been. Defensively, he does so many things for us and 15 rebounds says a lot.”
The last one was the biggest one. It came after the Wildcats had tied the game on David Sloans 3-pointer with 13 seconds left, and Nembhard had driven left on Mike McGuirl and hoisted up his shot. Samuels tip-in found the bottom of the net with so little time left that all Sloan could do was throw up a heavily guarded, off-balance 3 at the buzzer.
Thats what Samuel does. Hes a monster, TCUs Desmond Bane said. I tell him that every day. Hes gotten a lot better since last year, his motor is a lot better, is tough. Around the rim is a lot better. These are the types of games hes going to have throughout the season.
Samuel finished with 10 points to go with the 15 boards and lead four players in double-figures scoring, helping the Horned Frogs (11-3) start 2-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since joining the league. Bane contributed 16 points, Nembhard added 15 and Jaire Grayer finished with 10 in a total team effort.
Xavier Sneed led Kansas State (7-7, 0-2) with 19 points, though he was just 5 of 14 from the field. His biggest help came at the foul line, where he was 8 of 10 and the rest of the team was just 3 of 9.
We need to get where were getting consistent production out of guys every game and so far that hasnt happened, Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. Its typical of our season that weve had to deal with one thing after another.
The Horned Frogs allowed Kansas State to hang around as long as they were clanking 3-pointers
That started to change late in the first half.
Nembhards deep shot from the wing broke a 23-all tie, then the Wildcats came up empty on their next two possessions, and Bane and Edric Dennis Jr. added back-to-back 3s that helped TCU take its largest lead of the game.
Makol Mawien scored just before halftime for Kansas State, but he left enough time for the Horned Frogs to race up the floor. The ball got loose but wound up in the hands of Grayer, and his buzzer-beating 3 gave his team a 35-25 lead at the break.
The Horned Frogs started 1 of 10 from beyond the arc. They proceeded to hit eight of their next 12.
Another lull hit TCU midway through the second half, but the Wildcats struggled to take advantage of it. They trailed 40-29 when the Horned Frogs went more than six minutes without a field goal, but when Bane ended the drought with a 3-pointer with 10:45 to go, the visitors from Fort Worth still maintained a 44-40 advantage.
