Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming's Djibril Thiam guards Air Force's Anwar Johnson on Tuesday night.
Wyoming-Air Force statistics
by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Putting 40 minutes together offensively and defensively has been somewhat of a problem for the Wyoming Cowboys this season. They got a solid 25 or so on Tuesday, and it was more than enough, as they toppled Air Force 72-59 in the Arena-Arena.
Air Force led 32-31 at halftime and only trailed 45-43 with 10:50 to play, but the Cowboys stopped the Falcons on six straight possessions to regain the momentum.
“The first half we played lazy, I kind of felt like,” Wyoming guard Sean Ogirri said. “In the second half, we started denying, we made them put the ball on the floor and that really helped us.”
The Cowboys, 3-3 in Mountain West, 14-6 overall, scored nine straight points midway through the second half for some separation, and then closed strong on the free-throw line for the double-digit win.
“Coming onto the second half, we needed to be more assertive both offensively and defensively," said Wyoming senior forward Tyson Johnson, who led the Cowboys with 18 points.
Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer said the Falcons came out with a good game plan and got the Cowboys back on their heels.
“I think we settled for jump shots. We had 24 shots in the first half and 12 were 3s, and that is not us,“ Schroyer said. “That’s what we talked about going into halftime -- we’re settling, we’re not get post-ups, we’re not attacking the basket. I think we spent too much time trying to figure out what they were trying to do instead of playing our principles, play our rules, and do what we do."
Schroyer said playing a complete game has been a problem for them, whether it is at home or on the road.
“Even at TCU, we kind of go through lulls. It is something we’re going to address (Wednesday),” he said. "Depth is going to have to step up, our bench is going to have to step up."
What do the Cowboys have to do to be a little more consistent inside each game?
“I think we just have to play on our toes and be aggressive, just have the mindset that we’re going to win and attack everybody,” Ogirri said.
The win put Wyoming at 3-3 in Mountain West Conference play and 14-6 overall. The Cowboys have now won 10 straight at home this season and 11 straight overall dating back to last season.
The loss was the seventh straight for Air Force, 0-6, 9-10.
Leading by seven, the Cowboys closed on a 16-10 run.
“Tonight, I thought with played 31 minutes of really good basketball and it was last nine minutes that really took the toll on us,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.
Senior guard Brandon Ewing finished with 17 points for Wyoming, which is 10-0 at home this season. Afam Muojeke and Ogirri added 16 and 14 points respectively for the Cowboys.
“Wyoming had four players averaging double figures and all four of those guys got double figures tonight,” Reynolds said. “They are going to win a lot of games if you aren’t going to defend them.”
The Cowboys were 26-of-35 from the free-throw line in the game. Wyoming is currently No. 1 in the nation in made free throws and second in free throws attempted. Johnson was 10-of-10 and Ewing 11-of-14 from the line.
“It’s such a huge thing in what we try to do,” Schroyer said of free-throw shooting. “We talk about it every day in practice and we emphasize getting to the free-throw line. I thought we did a nice job of not settling in the second half and attacking the basket.”
The Falcons were just 5-of-9 from the line as Andrew Henke led Air Force with 18 points, with Anwar Johnson adding 10.
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