Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
PROVO — As a licensed real estate agent, Spencer Johnson knows the value of a good flip.
The Cougars did just that Saturday night against TCU.
Trevin Knell drained four 3-pointers for 20 points, Fousseyni Traore added 21 points and seven rebounds, and BYU had five players score in double figures in overturning a 46-29 halftime deficit for an 87-75 win over the Horned Frogs in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,978 at the Marriott Center in Provo.
Johnson added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists for BYU (21-8, 9-7 Big 12) to clinch at least a .500 conference record in its first season in the Big 12.
Dallin Hall had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds; and Richie Saunders contributed 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting with seven rebounds for the Cougars.
"It's not just me, it was my team," Traore said. "They were all helping me. Trevin told me, it's Fouss' night. You're going to have your way. … He was giving me more confidence. But I'm just happy we won."
Emanuel Miller led TCU with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Jameer Nelson added 14 points and five assists for the Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12).
After the Frogs jumped out to a 23-16 start, Jaxson Robinson pulled the Cougars within one with a 6-0 spurt as TCU went cold on six straight attempts midway through the first half.
But Chuck O'Bannon responded to the drought with a 3-pointer, and TCU shot 70% from the perimeter en route to a 46-29 halftime advantage. The Cougars shot just 40% from the field and 8% from 3-point range before the break, and TCU built up its 17-point halftime advantage with 11 points off eight turnovers and a 17-2 advantage in fastbreak points while outrebounding BYU 24-16.
Maybe it was a hangover from Tuesday night's 76-68 road win over Kansas. Maybe BYU players bought into their hype of being an NCAA Tournament lock by most projections, including ESPN's Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm from CBS Sports.
Whatever it was, they flipped the script in the second half.
TCU shot just 2-of-10 to open the second half, and Knell hit his third 3-pointer to cap a 13-2 run that cut the Cougars' deficit to just three, 50-47, with 13:46 left.
"That's what he does. He hit shots," Saunders said of Knell. "It was fun to watch; he was dangerous, and he knew it."
The Frogs responded, but the Cougars kept it close — and none closer than Robinson's 3-pointer five minutes later. After another stop and a rebound by Robinson, Saunders finished a floater in the lane to tie the game at 62-62 and force TCU coach Jamie Dixon to use his final timeout with 7:42 remaining.
So when Saunders drained a 3-pointer to give BYU its first lead of the second half a few moments later, the Horned Frogs had no way to stop the clock as the capacity crowd and a student section filled to the rafters of the 17,978-seat Marriott Center started screaming.
All the former TCU point guard and collegiate coach of more than three decades could do was watch as Robinson drove to the rim to cap a 20-2 run over 4:47 that lifted the Cougars to a 75-64 advantage en route to the double-digit victory.
"Give them credit for responding," Dixon said. "They came back from a big deficit and responded. We didn't.
"I don't know that our defense was that good in the first half," he added. "Open shots, we fouled too much; they got in the bonus from the get-go. And then get killed us from the line, and the rebounding turned in the second half. We knew we couldn't win unless we outrebounded them."
With wins over No. 7 Kansas and TCU, BYU will likely return to the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday before a matchup with Iowa State, currently ranked No. 8 nationally. That game from Hilton Coliseum will tip Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST on ESPN2.
