Frogs win last tune-up before regular season
In their last exhibition game of the season, the Frogs battled a larger opponent in a 92-80 win.
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

With the average height of the Frogs being just under 6-5, the team knows it is at a disadvantage when playing most teams.

However the team says with its new commitments under head coach Neil Dougherty, the disadvantage will not be as great as in the past.

“Most of the teams we’re going to play are going to be bigger than us,” sophomore guard Corey Santee said. “But when we box and defend, we know we can rebound.”

The Frogs had the chance to prove that point in its final exhibition game against Makesure Sport Saturday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Facing an athletic and taller squad, TCU out rebounded Makesure 44-43 and emphasized low-post offense in a 92-80 win.

The game did not lack physical play, and Dougherty said the team was prepared for it.

“We were expecting that,” Dougherty said. “You could see the size advantage they had in every position. When your scheduling exhibition games, you have to look for things that can maybe expose you a little bit, and you have time to go fix that.”

Santee said the attacking style of Makesure Sport was a benefit for the Frogs.

“We needed a team that would come after us hard defensively, deny the ball, so we could work on those things,” Santee said.

Makesure stayed step for step with the Frogs in the first half, taking a 47-39 halftime lead. Contributing to the cause was the team’s shooting percentage in the first 20 minutes (34.1).

“(What the coaching staff) told them at halftime was that I liked the shots we were getting,” Dougherty said. “We were getting good looks at the basket, and weren’t making any. We had the ball inside without finishing so many times, I’m afraid to count them.”

Whatever bothered the Frogs though went away after the half.

The Frogs went on an 18-4 run to start the half, and 18 points off turnovers in the second half helped the team pull away for the 12-point victory.

The team was led by Santee with 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Senior forward Jamal Brown also was big inside. He had a team high 12 rebounds to compliment his six points.

With the team’s next game being the season opener Friday at home against Washington State, Dougherty said this week will involve fine-tuning things like rotation and special situations.

“We’re almost there,” Dougherty said. “We’ve got a couple of things we need to add and then we’ll be ready to start the season.”

d.r.gillham@tcu.edu