Cowboys hold off Lions

Tyson Johnson


LOS ANGELES -- This nail-biter went the Cowboys way on Saturday, as Wyoming held off a game Loyola Marymount team 62-55.

The Cowboys, 6-1, led by 11 early in the second half, only to see the winless Lions (0-8) battle back for a 48-47 lead with 6:30 remaining.

Wyoming came right back behind the strong free-throw shooting of senior Tyson Johnson and held on for the win. Johnson, who had 16 points, was 7-of-8 from the line in the final six minutes.

“I think it was a great win for us, especially with our young kids,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said on the post-game show on the Cowboy Sports Network. “We lost, obviously, a tough one at Boise in the last second and we came out here and we fought and we clawed and we found a way to win a game on (Loyola’s) Homecoming. I’m really proud of our guys. We overcame a lot in the last 48 hours, and we stepped up here and won a game.”

Freshman Afam Muojeke led the Cowboys with 19 points, hitting four 3-pointers in the first half as the Cowboys led 40-34 at halftime. Sean Ogirri also added 10 for Wyoming, which fell to Boise State 86-85 on a last-second shot on Wednesday in Boise.

Ogirri, who struggled shooting from the field (2-of-12), hit four clutch free throws in the final 24 seconds to keep the Lions at bay. Loyola cut the Wyoming lead to 58-55 with 10 seconds left, but the Cowboys closed the scoring on a pair of Ogirri free throws and a Muojeke layup at the buzzer.

Wyoming, which shot just three free throws in the first half, was 11-of-12 from the charity stripe down the stretch. The Cowboys were 15-of-19 in the game.

In the one-point loss to Boise State, the Cowboys missed 13 free throws.

“We talked about that a lot, especially after that last game,” Schroyer said. “We talk about that last play, but we left 13 free throws on the board in the last game. Tyson and Sean, in particular, they did what you hope your seniors do and that is knock down free throws down the stretch. I thought Ty, in the last four minutes, really came to play.”

Johnson, who had a game-high nine rebounds, also had a key block late in the game with the Cowboys holding on to a narrow lead.

Marco Deric led the Lions with 16 points, followed by LaRon Armstead with 15 and Kevin Young with 10.

Although Wyoming senior Brandon Ewing had his double-figures scoring streak snapped at 14 games with seven points. Ewing still dished out seven assists and played strong defensively, despite a bruised hand.

“I turned to Coach (Fred) Langley in the second half and said, ‘This is the best Brandon Ewing has played defensively since I have been here,’” Schroyer said. “I thought he took the challenge of guarding (Jared) DuBois and (Corey) Counts -- Sean as well. But Brandon ran the team. Defensively, he was phenomenal.”

Wyoming returns to action Saturday against Northern Iowa at the Casper Shootout. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.

“This is a big week for us because it is finals,” Schroyer said. “Guys are studying and preparing. We studied a few times this week here. Hopefully, we can heel some of our nagging injuries and get ready to play a very good Northern Iowa team.”