Jase Febres 3s lift Texas, embattled Smart past TCU 62-61

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Jase Febres scored all 15 of his points on 3-pointers, including a tiebreaking heave from the midcourt logo to beat the shot clock in the final two minutes, and Texas beat TCU 62-61 on Wednesday night.

The Horned Frogs had gone on an 8-0 run for a 59-all tie when Febres ended up with the ball on the “T” of the TCU logo and had to shoot before the shot clock buzzer expired.

Courtney Ramey scored 12 points as the Longhorns (13-7, 3-4 Big 12) gave embattled coach Shaka Smart his first win in Fort Worth in his fifth try.

The Horned Frogs (13-7, 4-3) had the ball with a chance to win with 6 seconds remaining, but RJ Nembhard was called for traveling on a drive. Nembhard scored 17 points, including a tying 3 to cap the late 8-0 run.

Febres finished 5 of 7 from long range, including another long one for a 57-49 lead right after Desmond Bane had hit from well behind the arc. Bane, the Big 12’s best 3-point shooter, had 12 points but was 2 of 6 from deep.

The Longhorns, who beat TCU in the NIT semifinals on their way to the tournament title at Madison Square Garden last March, never trailed after Febres hit a 3 in the final seconds of the first half for a 28-27 halftime lead.

Texas shot 50% from 3-point range (11 of 22) to stop a season-high three-game losing streak. Jericho Sims had 13 rebounds and nine points, while Matt Coleman also scored nine with seven assists.

Kevin Samuel matched Nembhard with 17 points and had five rebounds for TCU.

BIG PICTURE

Texas: Much of Texas’s success this year has come from the perimeter, and the Longhorns are now 6-1 when hitting 10 or more 3s in a game. The Longhorns will play three of the next four at home.

TCU: The Horned Frogs have lost three of four Big 12 games following a 3-0 start for the team picked to finish last by the coaches in a preseason poll. Things don’t get much easier, with games against top-ranked Baylor, Kansas and Texas Tech in the next two weeks.

KOBE TRIBUTE

The Horned Frogs were one of many teams across the country to honor Kobe Bryant, wearing black warm-up tops that had Bryant’s No. 8 on the front and 24 on the back. Bryant, his daugher Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Texas: Home against Iowa State on Saturday.

TCU: At the top-ranked Bears on Saturday.