Bane scores 17, TCU beats K-State 68-57 to stop 6-game slide

Feb 16, 2020, 01:23 am

FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU coach Jamie Dixon wasn’t going to get picky coming off the worst loss of his 17-year career.

Desmond Bane had 17 points and TCU shot 45% from 3-point range to stop a six-game losing streak with a 68-57 win over Kansas State on Saturday.

“We’re too reliant on the 3,” Dixon said in his alma mater's first game since shooting a season-worst 15% from beyond the arc in a 46-point loss at Texas Tech. “But there’s going to be days when you shoot them better than others, and certainly today was the day.”

Bane scored all 12 of his second-half points from 3-point range and finished 5 of 10 from deep, including the go-ahead shot with 6:30 remaining to start a 17-5 run to end the game. The senior also had eight rebounds, eight assists and a career-high four blocks.

“We knew (the shots) would fall at some point,” Bane said. “You try to control what you can control. Control your energy, attitude, effort. That's all you can really control in this game.”

Xavier Sneed had 15 points and David Sloan had 11 more for Kansas State (9-16, 2-10 Big 12), but the Wildcats lost a fifth consecutive game and clinched a fourth losing Big 12 record in the last six years under eighth-year head coach Bruce Weber.

“I thought for the most part we were pretty good defensively,” Weber said. “They just made shots. There’s not much you can do about it.”

Jaire Grayer tied a season high with 15 points and while RJ Nembhard had 15 points and five assists in TCU’s first win since Jan. 21.

Francisco Farabello had eight points, while Kevin Samuel had five points and six rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: Frustration continues away from home for the Wildcats, who are now just 1-7 in true road games. Kansas State is winless on the road in the Big 12 and the only true road win came at UNLV back on Nov. 9.

TCU: The Horned Frogs rallied in a back-and-forth second half to avoid a seventh consecutive loss, which would have been tied for the longest losing streak in four years under Dixon. Instead, TCU swept the season series against Kansas State for the first time since joining the Big 12 in 2012-13 after a last-second win in Manhattan, Kan. back in January.

KEY REVERSAL

P.J. Fuller had just five points, but also had a three-point play to make it 57-52 with under six minutes to play after the initial call of an offensive foul was reversed by the officials.

FIRST-HALF RUN

TCU led by as many as 10 in the first half before Kansas State ended with a 13-2 run to take a 27-26 halftime lead.

UP NEXT

Kansas State is at No. 24 Texas Tech on Wednesday.

TCU travels to Texas on Wednesday.

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