FORT WORTH, Texas — Keion Mitchem scored 19 points and Zvonko Buljan added 18 for TCU, which beat Colorado State 81-67 on Saturday night in the conference opener for both teams.
Kevin Langford added 16 points and Edvinas Ruzgas had 10 for the Horned Frogs (9-5, 1-0 Mountain West).
Willis Gardner, who was 8-of-10 from the field, had 23 points to lead Colorado State (5-10, 0-1).
The Horned Frogs shot 54 percent from the field, including 65 percent in the second half.
TCU took a 34-31 halftime lead before outscoring the Rams 47-36 in the second half.
“They made a run to start the second half and that gave them the momentum,” CSU coach Tim Miles said. “After that opening run, we started to get that ‘oh no’ feeling and they built a four-point lead up to 10 and then kept extending it.”
Marcus Walker added 16 points off the bench for the Rams.
COLORADO STATE (5-10, 0-1)
Franklin 1-2 2-4 4, McFarland 3-8 0-0 7, Ogide 3-7 0-0 6, Carr 2-8 1-2 5, Gardner 8-10 6-6 23, Walker 6-14 0-0 16, Nigon 1-3 0-0 2, Perry 0-3 0-0 0, Simmons 1-2 0-0 2, Vandervieren 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-58 9-12 67.
TCU (9-5, 1-0)
Buljan 8-12 0-0 18, Langford 6-9 4-7 16, Ebie 1-3 1-2 3, Ruzgas 3-8 2-2 10, Mitchem 6-8 2-2 19, Moss 3-11 0-0 6, Lancon 0-0 0-0 0, Butler 2-3 4-4 9, Ortiz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-54 13-17 81.
Halftime — TCU 34-31. 3-point goals — Colorado St. 6-22 (Walker 4-11, Gardner 1-2, McFarland 1-3, Perry 0-1, Carr 0-5), TCU 10-25 (Mitchem 5-7, Buljan 2-3, Ruzgas 2-6, Butler 1-2, Langford 0-1, Ebie 0-2, Moss 0-4). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Colorado St. 27 (Franklin, McFarland, Ogide 5), TCU 34 (Langford 8). Assists — Colorado St. 12 (Carr 5), TCU 16 (Ebie 4). Total fouls — Colorado St. 18, TCU 12. A — 3,101.
