Cheyenne sub is difference
Cheyenne opponents go into games knowing they’ll have a difficult time defending all-state guard Elijah Johnson.
But Palo Verde couldn’t have expected that Eric Leider would be its biggest nemesis Friday night.
The senior guard game off the bench to score a team-high 18 points to help the Desert Shields to a 70-57 road victory over the Panthers.
“That’s the best game he’s played in quite some time,” Cheyenne coach Teral Fair said. “I’m very happy for the kid. He’s been with me for three years, so he’s one of my favorites.”
Palo Verde made a pair of runs in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 43-41 and 48-47. Both times Leider helped Cheyenne regain control.
His 3-pointer made it 46-41 with 2:39 to go in the third. He added an 18-footer to push the lead to 50-47 with 40 seconds left in the quarter, and the Desert Shields rolled from there.
“That’s exactly what we asked him to do,” Fair said. “As a third-year varsity player, not starting was an adjustment for him. But he was asked to come in, shoot the ball and play great defense.”
Johnson was no slouch, supplying 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Four of Johnson’s baskets were dunks, including a spectacular reverse on a fast break and a pair of alley-oops from Demetric Williams.
Johnson also helped clamp down on Palo Verde sophomore Moses Morgan.
Morgan made four straight shots in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers, but was 1-for-7 the rest of the way.
“We took it on as a personal challenge to kind of stop him,” Fair said. “We really said if we can contain him, we’ll be in good shape.”
Christian Lightbourne added 14 points and five rebounds for Cheyenne.
Liloa Nobriga led Palo Verde with 18 points and six rebounds, and Morgan had 14 points and six rebounds.
• Arbor View 69, Shadow Ridge 67 — At Shadow Ridge, Jimmy Graham’s basket with three seconds to play gave the Aggies the win.
Darington Banks scored 18 points and Graham 15 to lead Arbor View, which trailed 40-30 at the half.
Ray Singletary led Shadow Ridge with 15 points.
• Silverado 85, Del Sol 57 — At Silverado, Wade Collie had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Skyhawks.
Jimmy McMurrin and Ali Sabra each added 21 points for Silverado.
Maurice Lawson led the Dragons with 13 points.
• Mojave 77, Cimarron-Memorial 55 — At Mojave, Anthony Marshall led all scorers with 29 points and Darian Norris supplied 25 to carry the Rattlers past the Spartans.
Norris made 17 of 18 free throws.
Mike Cutright scored 24 points for Cimarron, and Tyler Tuliau scored 11.
• Foothill 72, Tech 54 — At Foothill, Jerry Harville scored all 12 of his points in the first quarter to help the Falcons rush to a 46-16 halftime lead.
Ben Siebert scored a game-high 17 points for the Roadrunners, and Brandon Tiffany added 16.
• Centennial 49, Legacy 39 — At Centennial, Adam Young notched 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs.
Walter Chappell led Legacy with 14 points.
• Liberty 70, Basic 53 — At Liberty, the Patriots got double-doubles from Justin King and Milos Knezevic to beat the Wolves.
King finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Knezevic contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Josh Ross led Basic with 17 points, and Jamal Joyner scored 13.
• Green Valley 60, Coronado 48 — At Green Valley, Jose Rodriguez scored 15 points to lead the Gators over the Cougars.
Matt Gable added 14 points for Green Valley, and Cody Aughney scored 13.
Christian Hatch had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Coronado, and T.J. Knowles scored 15.
• Trinity 68, Pahrump Valley 54 — At Trinity, Daveron Ross and Raphael Roberts each scored 16 points to lead the Thunder over the Trojans.
Travis Kersenbrock added 14 points and Casey Montonini 10 for Trinity.
Darius Dolley led Pahrump with 20 points.
• Sage Hill (Calif.) 76, Mountain View 60 — At Anaheim, Calif., Jamie McGee had 16 points to lead the Lightning in the Fairmont Prep Tournament.
Justyn Anderson led the Saints with 15 points.
Preps CentralWESTERN’S GUY GETS PREP ALL-STAR BERTH
Western High School football lineman Lawrence Guy has been selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 5 in San Antonio.
Guy’s inclusion on the West squad was announced Friday.
“The guy that came to present, he pointed out that in the United States there’s a million kids that play high school football, and Lawrence made it down to the top 84 kids, so that’s quite an honor,” Western coach Brian Murray said.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 275-pound Guy was a two-way starter for Western and excelled as a defensive end. He finished with 151/2 sacks and more than 100 tackles.
“He’s just incredible,” Murray said. “Aside from all the talent and physical tools that was God given, he was a tremendously hard worker. I’ve never had a kid that worked as hard as he did.”
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