FORT WORTH, Texas — Senior guard Jayden Pierre delivered when it mattered most on Senior Day, scoring 18 points to lead TCU to a 73-63 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday as the Horned Frogs continued their late-season surge.
TCU closed out the regular season portion of conference play by winning for the eighth time in its last nine games, extending the program’s strongest nine-game stretch since the 1998 campaign when the Frogs ripped off 14 straight wins during their WAC run.
Pierre paced the offense while also facilitating, finishing with five assists — his highest total in more than a month — as TCU controlled the tempo throughout the afternoon.
David Punch added 13 points and matched a career-best with seven assists, helping the Frogs move the ball efficiently in one of their cleanest games of the season. TCU committed just six turnovers, its lowest total this year.
Liutauras Lelevicius chipped in 14 points, continuing a recent scoring surge that has seen him reach double figures in four of the last five games. The forward was perfect from the free-throw line, going 4-for-4 to push his season mark to 44-of-48 from the stripe.
Xavier Edmonds also stayed consistent from long range, knocking down a 3-pointer for the fifth consecutive game.
The Frogs’ defensive pressure proved decisive. Cincinnati turned the ball over 19 times, the most by a TCU opponent in Big 12 play this season.
With the win, TCU finished conference play with a program-record 11 Big 12 victories and improved to 14-5 at home this season. Under head coach Jamie Dixon, the Horned Frogs are now 130-46 in Fort Worth and 53-37 in Big 12 home games.
The victory also marked TCU’s fifth straight conference win — the program’s longest winning streak in Big 12 play.
TCU has also found stability since inserting Micah Robinson into the starting lineup eight games ago. The Frogs have gone 7-1 during that stretch as their momentum builds heading toward postseason play.
