Miles returns with 18 for No. 24 TCU in 83-75 win over SMU
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Mike Miles Jr. returned to the TCU lineup with 18 points and the 24th-ranked Horned Frogs extended their winning streak to six games with an 83-75 win over SMU on Saturday night.
Miles was one of five players scoring in double figures for the Horned Frogs (8-1). Eddie Lampkin Jr., Micah Peavey and Emanuel Miller each had 11 points, and Chuck O’Bannon Jr. had 10.
Zach Nutall had 20 points for SMU (3-7), which lost its fourth consecutive game. Zhuric Phelps had 19 points, while Efe Odigie had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year who had missed Tuesday’s game because of illness, put the Horned Frogs (8-1) ahead to stay on a jumper with 13:33 left in the first half. That made it 12-11 before Miller and O’Bannon added 3-pointers on consecutive shots.
Lampkin extended the lead to 22-13 with a one-handed slam after his steal. Lampkin initially passed to Damion Baugh, who gave it back to the 6-foot-11 center to set up the rim-rattling basket.
Miller had also missed the win over Jackson State in the previous game because of back issues. He had missed two earlier games for the same reason.
When Miles was fouled on a drive with 5:43 left, he initially grabbed at his lower leg and walked around after missing the first free throw attempt. He made the second one before exiting with the Frogs up 70-55 and was wincing after going to the bench, before reentering just more than a minute later.
Lampkin was holding his lower back when he got up after being knocked down in a collision with Odigie in the lane when O’Bannon made a 3-pointer with 5:17 remaining.
The game between the former Southwest Conference rivals was played at Dickies Arena near downtown Fort Worth, only about three miles from the TCU campus — and about 40 miles from SMU’s campus in Dallas.
TCU and SMU were in the SWC together from 1923 to 1996, when the conference disbanded. This was their first meeting in four years, and the 194th overall.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: The Horned Frogs returned 10 scholarship players this season, including all of their starters from an NCAA Tournament team, but their starting five has fluctuated throughout the season because of illness, injury and Baugh missing the six games because of an NCAA suspension. They have three more games before opening Big 12 play Dec. 31.
SMU: With a much-changed roster this season for first-year coach Rob Lanier, the Mustangs have struggled to get going with any level of consistency. There are short spurts of solid play, but they are clearly a team still early on in trying to find its way. They had a 33-22 lead at home late in the first half against Arizona State in their last game but ended up losing 75-57.
UP NEXT
TCU: Hosts Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 18
SMU will have nearly two weeks before playing again, when the Mustangs open play in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii vs. Iona on Dec. 22.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25