Johnson bounces back against TCU

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming senior Tyson Johnson goes up for a shot against TCU.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Evidently, Tyson Johnson listens to his dad and to Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer.

The Wyoming senior, who had scored in double figures for the Cowboys in 18 of his first 21 games, failed to do so in his previous four games. He was determined to not make it five straight.

Johnson finished with 19 points on Saturday, as Wyoming held on to beat TCU 61-56 in the Arena-Auditorium.

“I just let the game come to me,” Johnson said. “The last couple of games, I just pressed too much; I was just thinking too much out there. I just went out there today and played my game.”

Johnson, who had scored just 25 points in his previous four games, was 7-of-10 from the field and hit 5-of-6 free throws on Saturday.

“He (Johnson) was in a slump,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “Teams had been working on taking away his tendencies. I give him credit; he stayed with it and has worked on his game in the last two weeks.”

In fact, Johnson stayed late on Friday for about a half hour working on the elliptical exercise machine.

“I thought Tyson just had a lot of pop in his step,” Schroyer said. “I told him that all of the hard work will pay off and it did tonight and I am really, really happy for him.”

Schroyer also said the Cowboys did a better job of getting the ball to him at the right angle.

“At times I thought our spacing was good,” Schroyer said. “Tyson just made a couple of buckets and I thought at one time he made the left hook coming over the middle over his right shoulder, he’s worked on that a lot. "

Johnson also said that he a little conversation with his father, Sylvester, before the game and took the elder Johnson’s words to heart.

“My dad just yelled at me before the game,” Johnson said with a smile. “I just came out and proved it.”

Schroyer said that for the Cowboys to improve offensively, they have to have all four double-figure scorers scoring in double figures each time out. That hasn’t been the case, as of late.

While senior guards Brandon Ewing and Sean Ogirri are often the straw that stirs the Cowboys’ drink and freshman Afam Muojeke has been a pleasant surprise this season, Wyoming needs Johnson’s consistency down the stretch.

He was Mr. consistent on Saturday.

“It’s always good have Tyson back … we got the win, so that is all that is important,” Ogirri said.