TCU beats Mississippi St 61-52 in Coastal Classic

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) Chris Washburn scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help TCU beat Mississippi State 61-52 on Saturday in the championship game of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.

Amric Fields had 11 for TCU and Kenrich Williams added 10 with 11 rebounds. It was the Horned Frogs' seventh consecutive victory after finishing last season with 19-straight losses.

Mississippi State (5-1) was paced by Fred Thomas' 14 points. Trivante Bloodman and Gavin Ware added 11 apiece. The Bulldogs struggled from the field, making 19 of 52 field goals (36.5 percent) - after scoring 75 in a semifinal win over Saint Louis on Friday.

TCU led 30-21 at halftime after holding Mississippi State without a field goal for the final 3:29 of the half.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair as TCU only allowed Mississippi State to make consecutive baskets on two occasions in the final 20 minutes.

The second of which, on baskets by Bloodman and Daniels, pulled TCU within 49-42 with 4:42 left. A minute later, Mississippi State's Demetrius Houston made a steal and Thomas' 3-pointer made it a five-point game at 50-45.

Then TCU's Washburn made the first free throw but missed the second, Williams grabbed the offensive board and Kyan Anderson made a runner in the lane for a 53-45 lead with 2:40 left.

Mississippi State had a steal and Bloodman made the open layup to pull within 55-47 with 1:54 left.

Washburn tipped in a shot for 59-49 lead and the Horned Frogs made 4 of 6 free throws the rest of the way.

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TIP-INS

TCU: Kenrich Williams, a sophomore, earned the Most Outstanding Player honors after posting a double-double. He made all three of his field goals and had 10 points in a 57-49 win over Bradley on Friday. ... Trey Zeigler and Chris Washburn were named to the all-tournament team.

Mississippi State: Gavin Ware entered the game shooting 65.9 percent of his shots and averaging 14.4 points. He had 16 on Friday. ... Fred Thomas and Ware made the all-tournament team. ... Travis Daniels, who made 8 of 11 shots and had 21 points on Friday against the Billikens, finished with just five points for the Bulldogs.

UP NEXT

TCU will travel to Ole Miss on Thursday.

Mississippi State will travel to face Tulane on Saturday.