On Thursday, the Mojave Rattlers faced the Liberty Patriots in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Mojave took a 61-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of Liberty.
Mojave's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was C.J. Shaw, who scored 25 points along with six rebounds and six steals. Shaw is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Sherrard, who scored 14 points along with four steals.
Liberty found their leader in underclassman Tyler Bright, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Bright has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Jaden Riley, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Mojave has not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-10 record this season. As for Liberty, the win (which was their tenth in a row) raised their record to 15-1.
Mojave will head out on the road to face off against Centennial at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Centennial focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 on Thursday. As for Liberty, they will look to defend their home court on Monday against Coronado at 6:30 p.m. Coronado knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 24 matchups -- so hopefully Liberty likes a good challenge.
