FORT WORTH, Texas – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team came up on the losing end of a high-scoring battle with TCU on Tuesday night, falling 89-82 at Schollmaier Arena. The contest saw 12 lead changes and seven ties.

Bison sophomore Jarius Cook scored a career-high 22 points and added a career-high six rebounds. Senior Rocky Kreuser added 21 points for NDSU. TCU’s Mike Miles led all players with 26 points.

Bison freshman Grant Nelson had a breakout game, posting 14 points and six rebounds in his first career start. NDSU junior Sam Griesel dished out 12 assists – tied for the seventh-most in a single game in school history, and the most ever by a Bison against a Division I opponent.

Ultimately, NDSU wasn’t able to overcome 59-percent shooting by the Horned Frogs. TCU also knocked down 11-of-24 (46 percent) from beyond the arc. NDSU shot 48 percent overall and drained 13-of-29 (45 percent) from three-point range.

The Bison used a 16-0 run to erase a 17-point deficit in the first half. The Horned Frogs held a 44-27 advantage with less than five minutes left in the half before NDSU rattled off 16 straight points in the span of 3:30. TCU led 49-45 at halftime.

Back-to-back threes by Kreuser put NDSU ahead 62-57 with 14 minutes remaining. The back-and-forth affair continued with Griesel putting the Bison up 70-69 on a jumper at the shot clock buzzer with 6:30 left, and Kreuser again tied the game at 73-73 with a three-point play. A quick 5-0 spurt by TCU gave the Horned Frogs a 78-73 advantage with 4:30 which they would not relinquish.

Cook scored 16 points in the first half, and Kreuser scored 16 after halftime for NDSU. The Bison (2-6) open Summit League play at Western Illinois on Jan. 2-3.