BYU had been blown out in its previous two true road games this season but had a real chance to win a crazy competitive afternoon matchup at TCU that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes.

Unfortunately, the Cougars stumbled down the stretch, making just one field goal in the final three minutes in a 71-67 loss at Schollmaier Arena in Forth Worth on Saturday to fall to 1-3 in Big 12 play.

“I don’t think there’s one magic pill, so to speak,” BYU coach Kevin Young said on his post-game radio interview. “I think we have a lot of things we need to get better at. Every game presents a different challenge. We do have to trim the fat with the turnovers. We’ve got to be better there.”

Richie Saunders, who led BYU with 26 points, hit a 3-pointer with 3:10 to play for a 65-63 lead. But the Cougars failed to execute down the stretch on the offensive end and paid the price.

Saunders stepped on the sideline for a turnover with the score tied at 67 and just over a minute to go. On BYU’s next possession, Fousseyni Traore missed a point-blank layup in the paint, which preceded Horned Frogs guard Noah Reynolds driving in for what would be the game-winning layup with 24 seconds remaining.

Trailing 69-67, the Cougars didn’t appear to have much of a plan on offense and chewed up 15 seconds before settling for a turnaround 3-pointer from Egor Demin that missed. Freshman Micah Robinson made a pair of free throws with four seconds left to clinch the win for the TCU, its first victory against BYU in 18 meetings since 2011.

Saunders made 9 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 7 from distance and had six rebounds in a strong performance. But he got little help offensively from his teammates, who combined to shoot 4 of 17 (24%) from the 3-point line. Demin had eight points and four assists but also four turnovers. The Cougars coughed up the ball 16 times, which allowed TCU to gain a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers and take 13 more shots.

“Turnovers, that was the bottom line,” Young said. “It’s hard to win ball games, any ball games, but certainly road games where you’re turning it over like that. I thought our guys competed their tails off. It was back and forth there at the end. I thought our edge was where it needed to be.”

BYU shot just 38% (9 of 24) from the field in the second half.

Reynolds scored 21 points as the Horned Frogs stayed undefeated at home (9-0).

The two teams were tied at 23 at the 7:39 mark after Reynolds knocked in a 3-pointer for TCU. The Horned Frogs got off on a 10-0 run and a fast-break dunk from Ernest Udeh gave the home team a 33-23 lead with 5:12 to play.

BYU responded with 14 straight points, including eight points from Saunders. His 3-pointer tied the game a 33 and a drive and score from Demin gave the Cougars a 35-33 advantage with just under a minute to go in the half. A pair of free throws from Traore capped the 14-0 burst and BYU led 37-33, which ended up being a 37-34 lead at the break.

Saunders led the Cougars with 12 points on 5 of 7 from the field and BYU shot 59% (13 of 22) from the field in the first half.

The Horned Frogs, making just 33% from the 3-point line this season, made 7 of their first 11 shots from beyond the arc and ended up 7 of 12 (58%) in the first half.

Saunders connected on a 3-pointer and Trevin Knell fed Keba Keita for a dunk to start the second half, giving BYU a 42-36 lead. But the Cougars couldn’t hold the advantage and eventually fell behind by five, 57-52, when Reynolds popped in a 3-pointer with just over eight minutes left. BYU rallied to take a 60-58 lead with 5:55 to play but couldn’t get enough stops to keep TCU (9-6 overall, 2-2 Big 12) from taking control late.

While BYU defended the 3-pointer better in the second half (TCU was just 2 of 12), the Horned Frogs simply drove hard to the basket and found little resistance, hitting eight layups including Reynolds game-winner.

Young went with a different starting lineup against TCU, choosing to go with Trevin Knell and bringing Dallin Hall off the bench. Knell got into early foul trouble and finished 1 of 5 from 3-point range. Hall had six points and six assists in 24 minutes.

BYU (10-5, 1-3) will try to end its three-game Big 12 losing streak on Tuesday at home against Oklahoma State.