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Men's hoops host New Mexico in Saturday's "Coaches vs. Cancer" game
Feb. 10, 2006
TCU vs. New Mexico Game Notes
FT. WORTH, Texas -- TCU men's basketball return for a two-game home stand as it entertains New Mexico on Saturday at 7 p.m. Central. While a battle remains to be fought on the hardwood, TCU head coach Neil Dougherty and New Mexico Ritchie McKay will be among hundreds of coaches nationwide to unite for a common cause by lacing up their sneakers in "Coaches vs. Cancer Night." The Horned Frogs and Lobos meet for the second time this season, with TCU looking to avenge a 56-54 loss to New Mexico exactly one month ago. In conjunction with the fight cancer promotion, middle and high school students can attend Saturday's game for $1 by showing their school's student identification card at the TCU ticket office. GAME 24: TCU (5-18, 1-8) vs. New Mexico (14-9, 5-5) TIPOFF: Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at 7 p.m. (CT) SITE: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201) in Fort Worth TELEVISION: None RADIO: ESPN 103.3 FM and KTCU 88.7 FM in Fort Worth/Dallas Brian Estridge (PBP) and John Denton (Color) will call the game on the TCU/ESPN Regional Sports Network. ONLINE: Live Radio Broadcast and Gametracker on www.GoFrogs.com
ABOUT THE GAME • Homecourt advantage has played to the Horned Frogs' favor in their series against New Mexico. TCU is 2-0 against the Lobos in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. • TCU head coach Neil Dougherty has selected Saturday's contest versus the Lobos as "Coaches vs. Cancer Night." Fans and the community are encouraged to join Dougherty and his Horned Frogs in the fight against cancer by wearing sneakers to the game. • Both head coaches Neil Dougherty (TCU) and Ritchie McKay (UNM) are in their fourth season. The two were hired as the 18th head men's basketball coaches at their respective schools in 2002. TCU is Dougherty's first head coaching position, while McKay has coached at the top spot at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02) prior to taking over the helm at New Mexico. • A win over New Mexico will bring head coach Neil Dougherty within two of the half-century mark. UP NEXT FOR THE HORNED FROGS The Frogs will then hit the road for a pair of games at San Diego State and Colorado State. ROUND ONE: AGAINST THE LOBOS ALBUQUERQE, N.M. (AP) -- Guards Darren Prentice and Ryan Kersten hit key 3-pointers down the stretch and New Mexico held TCU scoreless over the final four minutes to take a 56-54 win Wednesday night. New Mexico (11-5, 2-1 MWC) won its 20th straight game at home, the fifth longest such winning streak in the nation. But the Lobos had to rally from a seven-point deficit late in the second half, then survived a flurry of last second shots by the Horned Frogs (4-12, 0-2 MWC) that could have won the game or forced overtime. Nile Murry led the Frogs with a game-high 18 points, making it the 10th time he has paced the team in scoring. Sophomore Neiman Owens added eight points, tying a season and career-best mark, while senior Judson Stubbs pulled down a game-high 10 boards. TCU nearly pulled off the win by hitting 8 3-pointers. But the Frogs, who shot just 32.7 percent for the game, couldn't get a shot to fall at the end. Kersten, a freshman from Australia, broke a 54-54 tie with a layup with 1:58 left. Kersten rebounded a missed shot by Murry, raced down the court and wedged his way through a couple of TCU players to hit what turned out to be the final points of the night. Owens missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left but the Frogs rebounded the miss and called a time-out. When play resumed Murry misfired on a 2-point shot and teammate Judson Stubbs got another offensive board for the Frogs. As the final seconds ticked away Brent Hackett missed a 3-pointer and Murry's off-balance rebound and attempt at the buzzer came up short. David Chiotti led New Mexico in scoring with 12 points, nine of them in the first half. Walters scored 10. LAST TIME OUT: at Wyoming 67, TCU 65 • TCU has had at least two players finish with double-digit points 19 times this year. • Murry and Hackett were the only two Horned Frogs to log a minimum of 30 minutes apiece. It was the 11th time this season both played 30 or more minutes in a game. • Murry set a new single-season high mark in the Neil Dougherty era for leading the team in points. He has paced the team in scoring in 15 of his 20 double-figure scoring performances this year. • Hackett's double-digit scoring performance was the 14th of the season and a career best for the sophomore guard. • Junior Art Pierce earned his first start of the season and second of his career since Feb. 21, 2004 at East Carolina. • Pierce tied a career-high nine points before fouling out of the game with less than two minutes left. The 6-foot-9 forward is the fourth Frog this year to foul out. • Senior Chudi Chinweze and Pierce led the team with five rebounds apiece. Chinweze has paced the Frogs in boards pulled down in a game five times this year, while Pierce has done it on three occasions. • TCU shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, making it the fourth time in the last five games the Horned Frogs have reached or eclipsed the 40 mark in 2005-06. • The Frogs compiled a 66.7 shooting percentage from the free-throw line for the second game in a row. It was also the 14 time in 2005-06 that TCU has shot a minimum of 60 percent from the stripe.
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