Balldawgs GOTW Recap: 10 Best from #4 Cheyenne vs #6 Mojave
This week’s Balldawgs GOTW featured the #4 ranked team in the Prephoops rankings, Cheyenne, traveling on the road to take on cross-town rival the Mojave Rattlers. The game was a hard-fought defensive affair, with both squads fighting for control early…
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Continue ReadingThis week’s Balldawgs GOTW featured the #4 ranked team in the Prephoops rankings, Cheyenne, traveling on the road to take on cross-town rival the Mojave Rattlers. The game was a hard-fought defensive affair, with both squads fighting for control early in the game. Mojave, feeding off the energy at the Snake Pit led 14-8 after one and 21 -16 at the half. In the 2nd half behind the play of senior David Tinner David Tinner 6'3" | PF Cheyenne | 2022 State NV , the Desert Shields made their run. Tinner’s and 1 play had a chance to cut the lead to 3, but he missed the ensuing free throw and the Rattlers salted the game away at the line, getting an emotional 56-52 victory over their crosstown rivals. Here’s a look at my 10 best from the game.
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Best Player: CJ Shaw CJ Shaw 6'3" | SG Mojave | 2025 State #212 Nation NV 6’3 SG Mojave c/o 2025 (#8PHN 2025) – Shaw was brilliant all night. The wing was able to beat his man 1 v 1 and get downhill and to the rim virtually at will. The freshman was efficient, and made the game easy, rarely needing more than 3 dribbles to get to the rim.
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Best Offensive Performance: CJ Shaw CJ Shaw 6'3" | SG Mojave | 2025 State #212 Nation NV – Shaw finished with a game-high 20 points.
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Best Defensive Performance: David Tinner David Tinner 6'3" | PF Cheyenne | 2022 State NV 6’3 PF Cheyenne 2022 – The long-armed forward was all over the floor. He showed his defensive versatility by defending on the perimeter while protecting the rim with some monstrous blocks.
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Best Intangible: Christopher Rodriguez Christopher Rodriguez 5'8" | PG Cheyenne | 2023 State NV 5’8 PG Cheyenne 2023 (#59PHN 2023) – I understand what coach Fair likes about him. Rodriguez is an efficient game manager, who did a good job of protecting the ball and picking his spots. He played with a good understanding of the offense and did a good job of getting the ball to the hot hand.
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Best play: David Tinner David Tinner 6'3" | PF Cheyenne | 2022 State NV ‘s block. Late in the 1st half Mojave guard, Giali Chapman Giali Chapman 6'3" | CG Mojave | 2023 State NV drove strong to the hole only to be met by Tinner who viciously swatted the ball out of bounds.
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Best Coaching Decision: Coach Clark’s player rotations – Mojave coach Kejuan Clark was constantly rotating players in and out of the game. I believe this strategy allowed the Rattlers to be the fresher team during the 4th quarter of the game.
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Sleeper: Nathan Sherrard Nathan Sherrard 5'11" | SG Mojave | 2024 State NV 5’11 SG Mojave 2024 – Mojave got a huge lift from the shooting of Sherrard. His three-point shooting opened the floor, eventually allowing driving lanes for the Rattler Guards. Known as a shooter before entering high school, if he can shoot it like this throughout the season, Mojave becomes even more dangerous.
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Underclassmen: CJ Shaw CJ Shaw 6'3" | SG Mojave | 2025 State #212 Nation NV
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Best Quote: It’s just a Northtown situation”
– Kejuan Clark HC Mojave
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Best aspect of the environment: The Cheerleader battle. The game was almost as good as the cheerleader battle as both schools showed their spirit going back and forth with creative cheers. The crowd loved it and the players seemed to feed off the energy. The presence of the cheerleaders and the overall atmosphere of the environment went a long way to making it the game it was.
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