Vasean Allette broke loose for a fastbreak layup and then knocked down two free throws in the final minute as TCU pulled away late for a 76-72 victory over Xavier in the Big 12-Big East Battle on Thursday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

Allette finished with eight points, scoring half of them in the final minute. Frankie Collins led TCU with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Brendan Wenzel added 15 points and Ernest Udeh Jr. finished with 13 points and six boards.

Xavier’s Ryan Conwell had a game-high 17 points. Zach Freemantle contributed 16 points and six rebounds, and Dailyn Swain put up 12 points.

It was a back-and-forth affair with nine lead changes. TCU (5-3) jumped in front early, leading by as many as 11 in the opening half, but Xavier (7-2) battled back with runs of its own in the second half.

In a 69-69 tie with one minute left, TCU took control.

The Horned Frogs forced a turnover as Udeh knocked the ball away from Conwell, which led to a fastbreak basket by Allette. Xavier turned it over again on the next possession as Allette stole it from Freemantle. Allette was fouled and made both free throws to extend TCU’s lead to 73-69 with 46.7 seconds left.

Xavier failed to score on the next possession, and TCU went on to seal the victory.

It was an evenly matched game by all accounts with both teams shooting similar percentages and finishing tied 31-31 in the rebounding battle. The biggest difference came in turnovers as TCU had eight compared to Xavier’s 15, which led to a 19-11 advantage in points off turnovers for the Horned Frogs.

TCU held a 37-29 lead at halftime. The Frogs took a 31-20 lead on a 3-pointer by Micah Robinson with 3:24 to go before the break. Xavier pulled to within 33-26 before TCU had a highlight-reel play when Collins lobbed it to Udeh for a slam and a 35-26 lead with 1:14 left.

–Field Level Media