Iowa State men’s basketball comes up short again in 76-72 loss to TCU

AMES - Twelve times this season Iowa State has been within single digits with five minutes left in the game and 12 times Iowa State has lost those games.

The 12th time was a 76-72 loss to TCU in a Big 12 men's basketball contest Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones were with the Horned Frogs throughout the game and even led for a period in the second half.

But once again, Iowa State was unable to close it out. The Cyclones (2-18) are 0-15 in Big 12 play.

'They're beyond crushed,” ISU Coach Steve Prohm said. 'They're competitors. They've been resilient, they've persevered through everything that's been thrown at them this year. Obviously it's a disappointed locker room because we haven't won.

'There's no magical speech that I can give them.”

Seniors Solomon Young and Jalen Coleman-Lands played well on senior night.

Young finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also had four rebounds, three blocks and a steal.

Coleman-Lands started the game 7-for-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. He ended the game with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds and three assists.

'We fight hard,” said ISU guard Tre Jackson, who finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals. 'We've been fighting hard these last couple of games. I'm proud of everybody.

'I'm proud of my boys J-Cole (Coleman-Lands) and Solo (Young). It was senior night and we wanted to pull out the win. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that for them but we're going to keep fighting.”

ISU junior point guard Rasir Bolton injured his ankle in the first half. He tried to play through it but was unable to and sat the entire second half with the injury.

That put Tyler Harris in the lead-guard role for much of the second half. Harris finished with seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

'I thought we responded great when Bolton got hurt,” Prohm said. 'We played great in the second half. The biggest key to the game were live-ball turnovers. They scored 21 points on our 12 turnovers. That was a major hit and so was the free-throw line disparity.”

TCU, the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big 12, made all 18 of its attempts at the line while Iowa State was 7-for-8.

'It's frustrating from my end because these guys continue to compete and fight,” Prohm said. 'They got after it really well, took the lead and then weren't able to sustain it.”

Prohm's goal since about the fifth game in conference play has been to get the team 'over the hump” and get a conference win.

With three regular-season games left, that's still his goal.

'We're resilient and we have great character,” Prohm said. 'We just have to find a way to finish. That's on both ends of the floor we have to execute better.

'We have to keep learning and growing. I have to keep coaching. I have to go home and watch the film tonight and persevere and work. Obviously every one of us is being tested. When you go through trials and tribulations and tough times, you have to continue to fight and work and stay together. We're doing that.

'This is a player's game and you want to see them get some success. That's my job. I need to give them opportunities to be successful and enjoy this game.”

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