Northwestern St rallies from 12 down, beats No. 15 TCU 64-63

FORTH WORTH, Texas (AP) — Ja’Monta Black scored 25 points, Demarcus Sharp added 19 and Northwestern State rallied from 12 points down to beat No. 15 TCU 64-63 on Monday night.

Isaac Haney had 10 rebounds for the Demons (2-2).

Chuck O’Bannon Jr. had 12 points and Micah Peavy scored 10 for the Horned Frogs (2-1), who were without leading-scorer Mike Miles Jr. (left knee and ankle injury).

Sharp’s floating jumper with 1:12 left put the Demons ahead 64-63. TCU’s struggles from earlier in the half returned as O’Bannon and Jakobe Coles put up shots that were off in the final minute. Haney secured possession and called a timeout with 35 seconds left.

Northwestern State ran time off the clock before heaving a long range shot as the shot clock expired. After a timeout, O’Bannon’s desperation 3-pointer as time expired rimmed out.

Joshua Williams’ layup pulled the Demons to 34-33 early in the second half before the Horned Frogs used a 15-4 spurt to take a 12-point lead on Rondel Walker’s layup with 13:05 left.

The Demons clawed all the way back and tied it at 61 on JaMonta Black’s 3-pointer with 3:33 remaining and Jordan Wilmore’s free throw 43 seconds later put them ahead.

Eddie Lampkin Jr.’s rebound and putback then gave TCU a 63-62 lead with 2:25 to go, but the Frogs didn’t score again.

It hasn’t been the smoothest of beginnings for TCU. The Frogs had to rally to beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their opener and struggled to put away Lamar on Friday.

Despite struggling from the field, TCU took a 31-29 lead into halftime. The Horned Frogs were 9 of 29 (31%) from the field, including 0 for 9 from 3-point range. The Demons didn’t fare much better, shooting 34.3%.

BAUGH SUSPENDED

TCU senior guard Damion Baugh, who started 30 of his 31 games last season, served the third game of a six-game suspension imposed by the NCAA for signing with an NBA-certified agent after last season. The suspension was revealed before Monday’s game, and Baugh will be eligible to return Nov. 30 against Providence.

TCU coach Jamie Dixon said Baugh self-reported the incident by telling the coaching staff, which then told the school’s compliance office. Dixon said it did not include any benefits, lasted for a matter of days, and was handled the right way internally.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

TCU continued to struggle from 3-point range. The Horned Frogs missed their first 12 shots from beyond the arc. O’Bannon made TCU’s first 3 about 3 minutes into the second half. The Frogs finished 2 for 21 from distance and are a combined 14 for 74 over their first three games.

UP NEXT

Northwestern State plays at Illinois State on Thursday night.

TCU hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night to cap its four-game homestand before playing California in the Emerald Coast Classic on Nov. 25 in Niceville, Fla.