David Punch scored 17 points to lead a balanced offensive attack as TCU defeated Wisconsin 74-63 on Friday afternoon to capture the championship of the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
TCU (5-2) never trailed and led by four points at halftime before quickly rebuilding its advantage to 14 points five minutes into the second half. The Horned Frogs led 65-46 after a layup by Xavier Edmonds with 10:02 to play but Wisconsin made a final run, drawing within 10 on a jumper by Nick Boyd with 4:05 left.
Two free throws by Brock Harding pushed TCU’s lead back to a dozen. John Blackwell’s three free throws brought Wisconsin within nine points and a putback layup by Andrew Rohde with 2:09 remaining culled the Badgers’ deficit to 70-63.
Punch answered with a dunk and Micah Robinson hit a free throw to build the Horned Frogs’ lead back to 10 points, and TCU held on to win its third straight game.
Harding added 16 points for the Horned Frogs while Edmonds had 12 and Liutauras Lelevicius and Jayden Pierre each scored 11.
Blackwell led all scorers with 30 points and Boyd added 15 for Wisconsin (5-2). TCU outshot Wisconsin 46.7% to 34.5% overall.
The Horned Frogs led 6-4 three minutes into the game before creating some separation with an 8-0 run, capped by a pullup jumper from Harding at the 15-minute mark. TCU stretched its advantage to 32-18 after Punch canned a pair of free throws with 8:21 remaining in the half.
The Horned Frogs still led by 13, at 41-28, after a driving layup by Harding with 3:29 left. That’s when Wisconsin caught fire, ending the half on a 9-0 run to pull within 41-37 at the break with Blackwell scoring the final seven points, including a jumper at the buzzer.
Blackwell led all scorers with 21 points before halftime and the Badgers controlled the boards, building a 19-12 edge on the glass. Punch’s 11 points paced TCU in the first half.
To open the second half, TCU went back to the strategy that got it its early lead — pushing the ball inside. The Horned Frogs quickly upped the margin to 14 points as they hit six of their first eight shots over the first 5:04 of the half. Wisconsin started the half just 1 of 8 from the floor.
TCU also ended the game with a plus-2 rebounding edge after turning the tables in the second half, outmuscling Wisconsin 25-16.
–Field Level Media
