Basketball Game Preview: Cheyenne Desert Shields vs. Mojave Rattlers

The Cheyenne Desert Shields and the Mojave Rattlers will face off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played.

Cheyenne is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 58 points on Monday, they were much more limited against Sierra Vista on Thursday. They took a blow against the Mountain Lions, falling 75-22. The game marked the Desert Shields' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Meanwhile, Mojave faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. Mojave came out on top against Centennial by a score of 71-62. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Rattlers as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Cheyenne has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-18 record this season. As for Mojave, their win bumped their record up to 13-9.

Cheyenne was taken down by Mojave 71-36 when the teams last played back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mojave's C.J. Shaw, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and ten rebounds. Now that Cheyenne knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.