Mojave boys nip No. 1 Cheyenne
Seniors Kevin James and Brandon Birdsong combined for 39 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Rattlers to a 64-60 win over No. 1 Cheyenne in the Northwest League finale for both teams.
It was the second win over the top-ranked team in a week for the Rattlers (17-8, 9-5 Northwest), who locked up third place. Mojave will travel to Durango for the opening round of the 4A Sunset Region playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Cheyenne fell to the No. 2 seed, and the Desert Shields (21-4, 12-2) will host Sierra Vista at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“It’s a rivalry game, and obviously Mojave was very excited to play us,” Cheyenne coach Teral Fair said. “This is great preparation for the playoffs, and I think we’re poised to make a run at it.
“But their kids played hard, and they deserved to win.”
James, a 6-foot-6-inch center, led the way for Mojave with 26 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-5 Birdsong added 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks as 6-8 Desert Shields center Jaylen Henry battled foul trouble.
Their play overshadowed the perimeter battle between Rattlers guard Anthony Marshall, who has signed with UNLV, and Kansas-bound Cheyenne guard Elijah Johnson.
“Last game, me and Brandon didn’t do too well,” James said of Mojave’s 59-51 loss to Centennial on Tuesday. “When people think of Mojave, they think of Anthony Marshall for his outstanding work since his freshman year.
“We had to step up a lot and make ourselves known and compete as a team. And that’s what we did.”
Marshall finished with 11 points on 2-for-9 shooting from the floor. He also contributed eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Johnson, meanwhile, led the Desert Shields with 21 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. He nailed five 3-pointers but also was held to two shots in the fourth quarter.
“You always like to go into the playoffs coming off a win,” said Rattlers coach Tony Hopkins, whose team won six of seven down the stretch. “This is huge for us.
“Hopefully it will propel us to the regional final.”
The Rattlers led by as many as 17 points in the first half and were up 44-32 when Birdsong converted a reverse layup with 3:40 to play in the third quarter. But Cheyenne rallied, taking a 49-48 lead on Johnson’s tip in and going up 51-48 on two free throws by Chris McCall (15 points) early in the fourth quarter.
However, Mojave answered with an 8-0 run that included a steal and dunk by Marshall and went ahead 58-54 when James scored inside after a nice feed from Marshall with 1:40 to play.
J’Quon Wroten’s 3-pointer brought the Desert Shields as close as 59-57 with 1:10 remaining before Mojave hit five of six from the foul line late to put the game away.
“We had to leave our gym with a bang,” James said. “We had to let them know we’re a contender for state as well, and we respect them as much as they respect us.”
