Western Has A Frank Answer For TCU
Courier-Journal

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Highlights from the WKU-TCU Matchup (1.9mb)

November 24, 1986

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - With about two minutes left in Monday night's game against Western Kentucky, Texas Christian guard Jamie Dixon fired up an air ball.

That was the sign to Western fans that the hottest forest fire in Texas finally had been extinguished. Air Ball Dixon was the same guy who earlier had used silver bullets, shooting 20 points into the TCU net in the first half as the Horned Frogs took a 53-49 lead.

But Dixon, who closed with 31, and his fellow sharpshooters finally fell victim 96-91 to what quickly is being touted as the best Western basketball team in 15 years.

"We were scrambling for our lives in every way against Texas Christian," said Western coach Murray Arnold, now 2-0 in his new position. Scrambling or not, Western will go to New York as one of four survivors in the Coca-Cola National Invitation Tournament Classic. The Hilltoppers will play Memphis State at 9 p.m. EST Friday in Madison Square Garden. The first game will feature Temple against either Nevada-Las Vegas or Oklahoma.

Western scrambled most of the night, largely because of eight three point shots by the Horned Frogs, who had beaten LSU 83-74 Friday night.

Western trailed by six points early in the second half, but responded with a burst that tied the score at 57-57. Over the next 10 minutes the biggest lead the Hilltoppers could grab was three points, the biggest for TCU was five.

With 3:15 to play, Western's 6-foot10 forward Tellis Frank provided what may have been the difference, although Arnold said, "I'm not sure if there was a turning point, and I'm not even sure if there was a trend."

Frank hit a 10-footer to give the hosts an 85-81 lead. Then the big forward stole the ball in the backcourt and was fouled. Frank missed the free throw, but Ray Swogger rebounded and Frank subsequently tipped in a missed shot for an 87-81 lead at 2:52.

Two foul shots by Western's James McNary then boosted the lead to eight, and TCU didn't have enough punch left.

Well, that's a half-truth. With less than a minute left, TCU guard Carl Lott had a verbal dispute with Western's Kannard Johnson. When McNary, standing behind Johnson, pointed his finger at Lott, the TCU guard landed a Texas-size right to McNary's jaw.

After giving up those 53 first-half points, the Toppers yielded only 37 in the second half.

"We really had a hard time guarding their team," Arnold said.

Last year, while tying Texas and Texas A&M for the Southwest Conference championship, TCU ranked third nationally in field-goal percentage defense and was sixth in rebounding margin. With four starters returning, the Frogs had held LSU to 39 percent shooting.

Western shot only 47 percent, but the Hllltoppers dominated the rebounding. Larry Richard, who had grabbed 21 rebounds against LSU and 20 against Athletes in Action, got just five in 18 minutes as Western won the boards 47-28.

Frank led the Hilltoppers with a career-high 25 points, and Johnson added 22. Western's muscular front line of Frank, Johnson and Clarence Martin combined for 31 rebounds and 66 points.

"We had a big problem on the boards and we had a big problem at the free-throw line," said TCU coach Jim Killingsworth, whose club missed five consecutive free throws in the second half. "They shot the ball much better outside than we thought they could shoot It"

Several times in the first half Western appeared to have a solid grasp on thesituation, only to have the Horned Frogs bounce back. In many cases, the visitors utilized the outside three-pointer.

Western jumped to an 8-2 lead by mastering its own backboard. Martin followed a missed shot with a rebound basket. Then, after Swogger and Tellis Frank misfired, Martin grabbed the rebound and scored again.

Following a TCU basket by Norman Anderson, Frank hit from outside and Johnson used an offensive rebound to collect two free throws that completed the 8-2 run.

The Horned Frogs got the next six, which were answered by two baskets by Johnson. But Richard's three-point jumper and Carven Holcombe's fast-break bucket gave TCU the lead at 13-12.

Western regained the edge, but then Dixon came off the bench to hit a three-point jumper for an 18-17 lead. It was not to be the last the Toppers would hear from Dixon and, almost single-handedly, he would wipe out the Hilltoppers' biggest lead of the half, 35-27 with 7:41 left.

Dixon, the Horned Frogs' third leading scorer off the bench last season, hit 11 of 19 from two-point range, 5 of 7 from three-point range and 4 of 4 from the foul line. The 64 guard also had five assists, a blocked shot, a steal and only one turnover in 33 minutes.

Dixon responded to Western's 35-27 lead with a three-pointer, and Lott followed with another. McNary's three-point jumper gave Western brief relief, but TCU scored six of the next eight points.

Dixon scored TCU's last 12 points of the half. That streak broke a 41-41 deadlock and boosted the visitors into a 53-49 edge. Six of his 12 points were consecutive three-pointers that broke a 45-45 tie and gave TCU a quick six-point edge.

Previous Game Articles
WKU vs. Notre Dame (1986 Preseason NIT)
WKU vs. Dayton (1967 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Syracuse (1978 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Michigan (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Loyola (Ill.) (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Georgetown (1982 Wendy's Classic)
WKU vs. UAB (1/25/86 - Mars Bars Game)
WKU vs. Auburn (1985 Wendy's Classic)
WKU vs.Florida St. (1993 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Seton Hall (1993 NCAA Tournament)