TCU 73, Florida Gulf Coast 72

Published Nov. 11, 2011 10:50 p.m. ET

foxsports

Hank Thorns hit a layup with 12 seconds left to help TCU come back after nearly squandering a 16-point lead and hold off Florida Gulf Coast 73-72 in a season opener Friday night.

J.R. Cadot led the Horned Frogs, who never trailed, with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds. Adrick McKinney, Garlon Green and Thorns scored 10 points each.

Bernard Thompson paced the Eagles with 15 points. He was backed by 12 apiece from Chase Fieler and Brett Comer.

Cadot's layup with 17:52 left gave TCU a 47-31 edge, but Florida Gulf Coast rallied back.

Sherwood Brown brought the gap into single figures when his layup cut it to 68-59 with 5:57 left. Comer's three-point play trimmed it to 71-69 with 1:49 left, but Thorns' basket preserved the victory.

Florida Gulf Coast shot 61.4 percent (27 of 44) and outrebounded the Frogs 30-24.