BYU Falls Late At TCU To Drop Third Straight Game
Jan 11, 2025, 2:44 PM | Updated: Jan 13, 2025, 2:23 pm
BYU basketball dropped its third consecutive game as the Cougars lost to TCU 71-67 in Ft. Worth.
The Horned Frogs closed the game on a 6-0 run in the final 92 seconds. BYU closed the game in the final 3:10 without a field goal.
Final: TCU 71, BYU 67.
Horned Frogs close out the game on a 6-0 run.
BYU falls to 1-3 in Big 12 play; third consecutive loss.
TCU's first win over BYU since the two programs were in the WAC together in 1997.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 11, 2025
The Cougars fall in a game where Richie Saunders had 26 points and shot 9-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from three. Besides Saunders, the rest of BYU’s roster shot 4-of-17 from beyond the arc.
BYU committed 16 turnovers to TCU’s six.
TCU earned its first victory over BYU since 1997 when the two programs were in the WAC together.
Some notable numbers from BYU's 71-67 loss to TCU.
– TCU closed the final 1:32 on a 6-0 run (similar to the 7-0 run they had last week in their home win over K-State).
– Turnovers: BYU – 16; TCU – 6
– FG attempts: TCU – 59; BYU – 46
– BYU 3PT: 9-24; 5-7 for Richie Saunders; 4-17…— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 11, 2025
BYU now falls to 0-3 in true road games this season. The Cougars are 10-5 overall on the season and 1-3 in Big 12 play.
Starting Lineup
BYU changed the starting lineup, with Dallin Hall coming off the bench and Trevin Knell being inserted. The starting five consisted of Egor Demin, Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders, Kanon Catchings, and Keba Keita.
First Half
15:44 – BYU changed the starting five, and it only lasted two minutes after Trevin Knell was called for two quick fouls. Dawson Baker checked into the game after Knell went out. TCU attempted five more field goals (seven) than BYU (two). But BYU knocked down both of their attempts.
Egor Demin started the game with four points, getting to the foul line and hitting his first attempt on a tough shot off the glass. BYU 6, TCU 6.
12:29 – TCU caught fire from three, with Brendan Wenzel and Trazarien White knocking down back-to-back threes. Dallin Hall was in the second unit after the first media timeout with Fousseyni Traore, Richie Saunders, Mawot Mag, and Dawson Baker. TCU 17, BYU 15.
5:12 – TCU built up a 10-0 run that gave them a 10-point lead. Horned Frogs standout Noah Reynolds started to heat up with a midrange jumper and then a three-pointer. TCU 33, BYU 23.
3:02 – After the timeout, BYU basketball put together their own run. BYU went on a 7-0 run to cut TCU’s game-high lead of 10 down to three. The Cougars knocked down three field goals off assists from Dallin Hall. TCU 33, BYU 30.
Halftime: BYU 37, TCU 34
In the final 5:15, BYU held TCU to no field goals. After trailing by 10, BYU reeled off a 14-0 run before TCU’s Trazarien White hit one of two free throws with 0.9 remaining in the half to end BYU’s run.
Egor Demin and Dallin Hall played on the floor to close out the half before Trey Stewart and Elijah Crawford checked in for their usual end-of-half defensive possession.
The star guards each played 13 minutes.
Richie Saunders led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. TCU’s Noah Reynolds led the Horned Frogs with 10 points.
Second Half
15:55 – Richie Saunders knocked down two field goals in the opening minutes to give BYU a six-point lead. Egor Demin had a chance to extend the lead with a slam dunk down the middle of the paint that he missed. TCU hit a three from Micah Robinson and a jumper by Vasean Allette. BYU 44, TCU 41.
12:35 – BYU’s offense began cooling off, knocking down only one of their last seven field goal attempts. The one make was from Kanon Catchings, who hit his first bucket of the game, and it was a layup under the hoop after BYU trailed by one. TCU countered by getting to the rim with White and Reynolds as the Horned Frogs regained the lead. TCU 49, BYU 48.
7:57 – Noah Reynolds continued to heat up for TCU. Moments after Dallin Hall knocked down a three at the top of the key, Reynolds hit one of his own to counter, giving TCU a 57-52 lead.
Mawot Mag had an impressive block on Reynolds a few possessions prior, but BYU couldn’t counter after Catchings had a traveling call behind the three-point line.
Before the under-eight media timeout, Dallin Hall had a beautiful assist that the TV announcers said made him look like NBA legend Steve Nash to Keba Keita for a slam dunk. TCU 57, BYU 54
4:13 – TCU built its lead to four (58-54) before Richie Saunders had a 4-0 run to tie it up. He hit a three on the wing off a designed play. The assist was from Demin. Then Saunders got downhill and was fouled, hitting only one of two free throws.
BYU then took the lead after a pair of free throws from Trevin Knell, passing on a corner three, putting the ball on the deck to drive to the rim. When Knell was at the line, some quiet chants of B-Y-U, B-Y-U were heard on the TV broadcast.
But then TCU went back to work. White earned an old-fashioned three-point play, drawing a foul on Dawson Baker. Then, Allette picked Demin off, leading to a Reynolds finger roll at the hoop. TCU 63, BYU 60.
2:42 – Dallin Hall found Richie Saunders for a wide-open corner three to give the Cougars the lead. Then White from TCU was called for an over-the-back foul on Demin. The freshman guard was nursing his head after the foul call. BYU 65, TCU 63.
1:12 – The teams exchanged points after TCU’s David Punch had a slam dunk with authority to tie it up at 65. Then Richie Saunders buried two free throws to give BYU the lead.
Reynolds drew a reach-in foul on BYU’s Mawot Mag for a one-and-one. He hit the front end, then knocked down the second.
Kevin Young called BYU’s final timeout after Egor Demin had a shot attempt blocked by Ernest Udeh. BYU 67, TCU 67
35.5 – Coming out of the timeout, Richie Saunders caught the inbounds pass with a foot on the out-of-bounds line. BYU had another opportunity to take the lead with a great look from Fousseyni Traore in the paint, but he missed the point-blank shot. BYU 67, TCU 67.
Final: TCU 71, BYU 67
Mawot Mag guarded Reynolds, and the TCU standout, who Kevin Young compared to Jalen Brunson, hit a Brunson-like shot that Mag contested, and it went off the glass to give TCU the lead.
On BYU’s offensive possession, Egor Demin forced a three that went off the rim, caused a loose ball, and went out of bounds off Mag’s hand with 4.9 seconds left.
Then TCU freshman Micah Robinson buried free throws to ice the game away.
Up Next for BYU Basketball
BYU basketball will look to end a three-game losing streak on Tuesday night when they host the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+ and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
