Tyler Johnson is far from Bishop Gorman’s tallest player, won’t often lead them in scoring and doesn’t even start.
But none of that will stop the 6-foot sophomore guard from leaving his mark on the game, just like he did Thursday night.
Johnson had nine points, five rebounds, 10 assists, a steal and a blocked shot to help the Gaels roll to an 81-61 home victory over Liberty in boys basketball.
“Just play as much defense as I can, get the energy going,” Johnson said of his main job off the bench. “I feel like that’s my main contribution to the team is my defensive role. I feel like if I play as much defense as I can, the energy will go up and everyone will start playing defense.”
That’s exactly what happened when Johnson and the second unit checked into the game in the first quarter Thursday. Johnson’s tip-in helped key a quick 7-3 spurt as the Gaels increased the tempo and got out into the open floor, pushing their lead to 15-9 on a three-point play by Dino Roberts with 3:11 to go in the quarter.
“When Tyler Johnson and Dino Roberts come in, it gives us a boost defensively,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “They’re two quick guards and elite defenders. Tyler Johnson’s all over the place on defense. I mean, he gets his hands on everything and just makes things happen.”
After Johnson and the second unit sparked the defense, sophomore shooting guard Ilan Nikolov helped Gorman extend the lead. The Gaels didn’t hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter, but Nikolov was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Gaels pushed their lead to 44-31 at the break.
Nikolov didn’t attempt a field goal in the first quarter, but went 1-for-2 from the foul line after Liberty coach Kevin Soares was assessed a technical foul.
“I think those free throws kind of got him comfortable and he got hot there,” Rice said. “We know what he can do. He did that in several games last year and it was just a matter of time before he exploded.”
Nikolov finished with a team-high 15 points and was 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. Nick Jefferson added 13 points and three assists, while Kameron Cooper scored 10 points for the Gaels (5-0, 2-0 Class 5A Southern League).
Jaden Riley had a game-high 22 points to lead Liberty (0-1, 0-1). Jalen Parker hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points and five rebounds for the Patriots, while teammate Dante Steward scored 10 points.
“We’ve got to lock down on defense,” Rice said. “I wasn’t happy with our defense. We gave up 10 3s tonight. They made some tough shots, but there were four or five of them where we could have put a hand up a little better and done a little better job defensively.”
