Johnson tweaks knee, Marshall struggles as Cheyenne tops Mojave, 67-53

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009 | 1:30 a.m.

In Elijah Johnson's eyes, the fact that Cheyenne defeated Mojave on Tuesday night kept the evening from being a total downer.

The Desert Shields' senior standout guard scored only four points on two-of-seven shooting in the 67-53 triumph at Cheyenne High, but he was on the bench more than usual. And when he was sitting, his mind was flat-out racing.

Johnson, who missed a handful of games earlier this season with a slight ligament tear in his left knee, banged hard into a wall at practice Monday.

"It's just been messing with me ever since," said Johnson, who's only been back in action for two weeks. "I got what I wanted -- the win."

The night began as a main event between arguably the city's top two senior hoops prospects not playing at Findlay Prep.

Johnson, who has already signed to play at Kansas next season, went head-to-head with his good pal, Mojave High senior and UNLV signee Anthony Marshall.

The two guarded each other right from jump, with neither doing much against the other early on.

Johnson scored all four of his points in the first half, while Marshall scored eight of his game-high 25 points on just three-of-13 shooting in the first half.

Johnson sat twice before the break, but then took his lengthiest hiatus just a couple of minutes into the second half. He left the floor wincing, disappeared to the locker room for a bit, then returned to the bench. He came back for a few minutes late in the game after Mojave cut a double-digit deficit down to seven points, but didn't try to do too much.

The player rated as the No. 27 prospect in Rivals.com's 2009 senior class now has little clue what the rest of his senior season holds. He'll visit with his doctor Wednesday afternoon to figure out whether his knee is still at full strength, or if more rest is needed.

This came three days after he scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards in a 75-65 victory over No. 2 Palo Verde.

The Desert Shields are now 16-2 and the city's top-ranked NIAA squad.

"That's what's been on my mind all night -- ever since I got pulled out of the game the first time it's been on my mind," Johnson said. "I kind of feel like for my future it'd be better to just sit out now and let it heal up. But at the same time, this is my senior season, No. 1 team in the state, who wants to sit out?"

The one thing that brought a smile to Johnson's face after the game was talking about the Jayhawks, who he said he's kept up with consistently this season.

"The way they're playing, I feel like next year I'll fit right in," he said. "No one will realize I wasn't on the team the year before."

Cheyenne was led by 6-foot-8 junior center Jaylen Henry, who scored a team-high 19 points. Senior guard Demetric Williams' emphatic breakaway dunk with just over two minutes to play seemingly put Mojave away for good at 60-47. Williams scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half.

As for the Rattlers, Johnson's 25 points came on a nine-of-28 shooting performance, which looked pretty patchy more in the first half than the second.

Early on, Marshall was settling for, and even on a couple of occasions forcing, long-range jumpers. On one possession in particular, he missed three attempts from beyond the arc.

When guarded by Johnson early, the Cheyenne senior put his body at an angle while Marshall brought the ball up that all but invited Marshall to go to his left.

Marshall said he's comfortable going in either direction, but keeping him from going right kept Mojave's offense from taking more shape.

In the second half, Marshall went hard to the rack more for inside looks, but admitted that a second quarter which saw Cheyenne charge harder and outscore Mojave 19-7 ultimately did his team in.

"They just kind of ran up on us," he said. "We play them one more time (on Feb. 12), so they can expect us to come out harder."

Ryan Green can be reached at [email protected]