By SCHUYLER DIXON , AP Sports Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 17 points, Kouat Noi had his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds after missing a game with an illness and TCU beat Texas 65-61 on Wednesday night.
Freshman Kevin Samuel matched his season high with 13 rebounds as the Horned Frogs (14-4, 3-3 Big 12) won their seventh straight Big 12 home game going back to last season. It’s the longest home conference winning streak for TCU in 18 years.
Noi secured his first double-double with his 10th rebound on the offensive end with TCU leading by two with less than six minutes remaining, leading to a pair of free throws from JD Miller.
Bane pushed the lead to eight at 62-54 with two nifty layups, including a reverse that glanced high off the glass and energized a late-arriving sellout crowd because of an early tipoff.
Kerwin Roach II scored 15 points for the Longhorns (11-8, 3-4), who couldn’t follow up on a home win over then-No. 20 Oklahoma and dropped back below .500 in league play. Freshman Jaxson Hayes had a season-high five blocks for the second straight game.
Texas was down 12 early in the second half and trailed by eight with less than four minutes remaining yet still had a chance to tie in the final seconds after seldom-used Lat Mayen missed a free throw. But Elijah Mitrou-Long missed badly on a desperation 3-point try with time running out.
Miller scored 11 for TCU while Courtney Ramey and Hayes had 10 points apiece for Texas. Dylan Osetkowski finished with nine points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns.
BIG PICTURE
Texas: The Longhorns did well to hang around when it appeared TCU would cruise in the second half. But the bottom line is Texas hasn’t been able to build on the momentum of a league-opening blowout victory at Kansas State, which is now the Big 12 co-leader.
TCU: The Horned Frogs’ last home win was their biggest in the Big 12 in seven seasons in the conference. Now they have to figure out the road formula to gain any traction. TCU is 0-3 on the road in league play so far.
UP NEXT
Both teams are in the Big 12-SEC Challenge on Saturday. Texas goes to Georgia, and TCU is home against Florida.