Rattlers’ inside moves power way to victory

That strategy worked, as the top-ranked Rattlers scored mostly on drives, stick-backs and free throws in the fourth quarter to rally for a 71-68 road victory over Cimarron-Memorial.

“The key was we had to keep close to the basket so if we missed, we’d have an opportunity to put the ball back in,” Hopkins said. “Because we really weren’t shooting the ball very well.”

Mojave trailed 51-50 entering the fourth quarter but took the lead for good on Anthony Marshall’s three-point play with 7:05 to go. He added two rebound baskets and three free throws in the quarter, scoring nine of his 20 points.

Darian Norris, who had 25 points, also came through in the final quarter, making all eight of his free throws. Mojave (20-1, 9-0 Northwest Division) shot 11-for-13 from the line in the quarter.

The game was nearly a must-win for Cimarron (16-8), which fell to 4-5 in the Northwest, two games behind Cheyenne, Centennial and Palo Verde, all tied at 6-3. The Spartans have five league games to play, and only two are against the teams ahead of them.

“We knew Cimarron was going to play with a lot of emotion because they were basically facing elimination,” Hopkins said. “We wanted to come out and jump on them early, and we did in the first quarter, but once we settled down, they came right back.”

Mojave bolted to a 16-2 lead before the Spartans sprinted back into the game, scoring 15 of the final 17 points in the first quarter.

Mike Cutright finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists to carry Cimarron.

“Mike Cutright, every chance he gets, he kills us,” Hopkins said. “I don’t know if it’s the uniform color or the name or what it is, but he just absolutely kills us.”

• Canyon Springs 101, Eldorado 88 — At Canyon Springs, Deremy Geiger had 42 points and seven assists as the Pioneers built a 31-point lead through three quarters and went on to defeat the Sundevils.

It was the first Northeast Division loss for Eldorado.

Adrian Snow had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Raveon Samuel added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Canyon Springs.

Mitrell Clark led Eldorado with 35 points.

• Palo Verde 71, Cheyenne 64 — At Cheyenne, Aaron May scored 20 points to help Palo Verde beat the Desert Shields.

Liloa Nobriga added 19 points for the Panthers.

Elijah Johnson paced Cheyenne with 20 points.

• Coronado 69, Green Valley 61 — At Coronado, Cory Ford had 25 points and Christian Hatch compiled 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cougars pull into a tie with Green Valley for fourth place in the Southeast Division.

Julian Franklin led the Gators with 19 points.

• Chaparral 63, Las Vegas 55 — At Las Vegas, Cardale Spencer came off the bench to score 24 points and lead the Cowboys.

Marvin Campbell led the Wildcats with 18 points.

• Desert Pines 74, Valley 57 — At Desert Pines, Cliff Harrell had 15 points and six rebounds to help the Jaguars get past the Vikings.

Michael Ball added 11 points and seven rebounds for Desert Pines. David Michaels scored 13 points to lead Valley.

• Durango 77, Western 57 — At Western, Jamal Crook scored 18 points and Marcus Falley 16 to lead the Trailblazers past the Warriors.

Johnny Diggs had 18 points and seven assists for Western.

• Bonanza 58, Sierra Vista 42 — At Sierra Vista, Landry Peterson had 18 points and 10 assists to help the Bengals defeat the Lions.

Josh McLain had 13 points and nine rebounds to lead Sierra Vista, which shot 16-for-50 from the field.

• Boulder City 57, Tech 51 — At Tech, Alex Dillon scored 14 points to carry the Eagles past the Roadrunners.

Tech’s Marcus Boykin scored 17.

• Faith Lutheran 76, Pahrump Valley 46 — At Pahrump, Diontea Wright scored 18 points and Brent Lubbe 14 to lead the Crusaders.

• Henderson International 37, Beatty 28 — At Henderson International, Tommy Vogel scored 12 points to lead the Wolverines.

International’s E.J. Rudy made a 3-pointer in the second quarter to surpass 1,000 career points.

• Lake Mead 81, Trinity 58 — At Lake Mead, Jared Dean had 28 points as Lake Mead clinched the 1A South League title by downing Trinity.

Landon Littlefield added 17 points for the Eagles (7-0 South). Budweiser Hawkins led Trinity with 16 points.

• Mountain View 67, Laughlin 40 — At Mountain View, Brandon Carr had 30 points and 15 rebounds to lift the Saints over the Cougars.

• Moapa Valley 41, Virgin Valley 34 — At Mesquite, Shaun Hilton, Max Jenkins and Shilo Sandoval each scored 10 points to lead the Pirates.

• White Pine 75, The Meadows 74 — At Ely, Wade Wilkinson poured in 31 points as White Pine held off the Mustangs.

Jon Chino led The Meadows with 25 points.

• Pahranagat Valley 54, Calvary Chapel 49 — At Calvary Chapel, Brady Whipple and Cody Hosier had 14 points each as the Panthers beat the Lions.

Cory Welch had 17 points for Calvary Chapel.