Cheyenne holds off Green Valley to make semis

Matt O'Brien

Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

If someone unfamiliar with local high school basketball wandered into Cheyenne's gym Wednesday night, they would have had difficulty in the first half determining which team was ranked No. 1 in the state and which team was below .500.

They also would have had trouble figuring out who was the state player-of-the-year candidate and who was the football star-turned-hoopster.

But in the second half reality set in and Cheyenne, which topped the latest Sun Top 10 poll, built a 16-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and held on to defeat Green Valley 74-68 in the opening round of the 4A Southern Zone tournament.

The win didn't come easy for the top-ranked Desert Shields (24-5). They trailed for most of the first half and were fortunate to carry a three-point lead (35-32) into intermission.

But All-State guard and Georgetown signee Demetrius Hunter, who was outplayed in the first 16 minutes by Green Valley's gridiron standout Cornell Williams, scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter to give Cheyenne a 55-45 advantage entering the fourth.

"In the second half, I tried to be a lot more aggressive," said Hunter, who had only five points at the break.

"I was shooting too many jump shots in the first half and (coach Larry Johnson) told me to start taking it to the hole."

Spurred by Hunter and 6-4 center Jason Johnson (16 points, six rebounds), Cheyenne led 66-50 with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

But Green Valley (10-13), which made 21 of 25 free throws on the night, went on an 18-6 run to trim the lead to four with 11 seconds showing on the clock.

The Gators immediately fouled Cheyenne point guard Larry Graves, who missed both free throws.

Green Valley's Jamal Dargigny, who was fouled on the ensuing rebound, had a chance to cut the lead to two at the charity stripe, but failed to convert either attempt.

The Gators were paced by Williams' 21 points and seven rebounds. Jeff Platt and Jared Bedich chipped in 16 and 15 points respectively.

The win allows Cheyenne to advance to the semifinal round of zone competition and gives it an automatic berth in next week's state tournament.

"Our chances are as good as anyone's," said Johnson, when asked how his team might fare in Reno.

"There's a lot of parity out there and it's wide open.

"But the key for us was to get this game tonight."