TCU advances to NIT championship game
NEW YORK — Kenrich Williams scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to lift Texas Christian to a 68-53 win over Central Florida in a NIT semifinal game on Tuesday night.
Texas Christian will meet Georgia Tech in the championship game Thursday night.
Williams also grabbed 14 rebounds and had seven assists.
Vladimir Brodziansky led the Horned Frogs with 18 points.
Trailing by two at halftime, the Horned Frogs opened the second half with a 16-5 run to take a 45-36 lead. JD Miller sparked the run with three layups and a free throw.
TCU (23-15) was helped by Central Florida, which missed five of its first seven shots from the field in the second half.
For the game, Central Florida shot 33 percent, including missing 19 of 25 3-point attempts.
Despite all of TCU’s strong play, UCF hung around for a bit. A.J. Davis’ driving, one-handed jam with nine minutes left sliced the deficit to seven at 52-45.
Davis is the son of former NBA player Antonio Davis, who was in the MSG crowd. That was as close as Central Florida (24-12) would get. Williams’ lay-in over AAC Defensive Player of the Year Taco Fall with 5:42 left pushed the lead to 56-45.
From that point, the Horned Frogs outscored Central Florida 12-8 to close out the game.
Big picture
Central Florida: Overall, the Knights’ second postseason NIT appearance was a success. Central Florida won three games in the tournament.
Texas Christian: The Horned Frogs have qualified for the NIT seven times in program history. This marks the first time TCU has reached the NIT title game.