Marshall, Mojave rule

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The championship game of the Vegas Valley Invitational quickly became a matchup of the area’s top two juniors: Cheyenne’s Elijah Johnson and Mojave’s Anthony Marshall.

The guards matched each other shot for shot, move for move, basket for basket. And the game wasn’t decided until Johnson’s desperation halfcourt shot at the final buzzer went off the backboard, giving Mojave a 72-70 victory Saturday and its second straight tournament title.

Marshall, the tournament Most Valuable Player, scored nine of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter and made three free throws in the final 49 seconds.

Johnson countered with 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Desert Shields.

Marshall’s free throws with 49.3 seconds gave the Rattlers a 71-70 lead. Marshall then rebounded a Johnson miss and hit 1 of 2 foul shots with a second left for the final margin.

“The thing about Anthony is, he’s calm, cool and collected under pressure,” Mojave coach Tony Hopkins said.

Darian Norris also had a strong game for Mojave, scoring seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. He added six assists.

“(Marshall) and Darian are going to orchestrate what we do,” Hopkins said. “Either the ball’s going to go through Darian’s hands, or it’s going to go through Anthony’s hands.”

Only one other Mojave player, Jordan Cannon, attempted a shot in the fourth quarter.

Mojave led 54-46 entering the period when Johnson led a Cheyenne comeback. He made a put-back basket to start the period, hit a long 3-pointer and went coast-to-coast after grabbing a rebound to trim the deficit to 62-61 with 3:26 remaining.

“When they started making a run on us, we took Darian off Elijah and moved Anthony over there,” Hopkins said. “Because Elijah, he was incredible tonight.”

Johnson wouldn’t score again, but Christian Lightbourne helped extend the Desert Shields’ rally. He had nine points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter, and his three-point play with 58.1 seconds left gave Cheyenne a 70-69 lead, its first since the first quarter.

Marshall also had a big game defensively, finishing with five blocked shots and six steals.

“We actually have Anthony step back a little defensively, because we use him so much offensively,” Hopkins said. “If we wanted to have him assert himself and be the best defensive player on the floor every night, he could do that.”

Lightbourne finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds for Cheyenne, which meets Mojave again Jan. 8 in a Northwest Division game after the holiday break.

“When we get back to school on the 8th, we’re throwing that party again and it’s going to be fun,” Hopkins said.

• Green Valley 73, Durango 57 — Cody Aughney had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Gators over the Trailblazers.

Jose Rodriguez added 17 points for Green Valley.

• Desert Pines 107, Shadow Ridge 69 — Pierre Jackson scored 22 points as the Jaguars rolled in the consolation championship.

Zach Hafen scored 21 points and John McCoy 20 for the Mustangs.

• Spring Valley 60, Bartlett (Alaska) 47 — Jason Walter and David Carroll combined for 15 fourth-quarter points to help the Grizzlies beat Bartlett.

Walter finished with 14 points and Carroll 12.

• Faith Lutheran 59, Miami Senior 55 — Diontea Wright scored 18 points as the Crusaders beat the Stingarees.

• Marshall (Ore.) 78, Basic 61 — Brenden Sheumaker had 33 points to lead the Minutemen over the Wolves.

Shane Allison and Josh Ross each scored 13 points to lead Basic.

• Schurr (Calif.) 66, Chaparral 51 — Alex Valdez scored 29 points to lead Schurr.

Cardale Spencer had 15 points for the Cowboys.

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.