Cleveland’s Daniel Steverson is confronted by two Rams, Jayden Johnson (34) and Jamal Bynum, in first-half action Jan. 31 in the Thunderdome. Steverson and Johnson were their teams’ scoring leaders that night.

 

Host Cleveland ended the first half of its District 1-5A basketball schedule with an 85-74 victory over Rio Rancho the evening of Jan. 31.

The Storm used a 13-1 run late in the second quarter to pull away from a tie at 6, and kept the lead.

“Whenever you play Rio Rancho, our rival, you don’t take any deep breaths and relax at all, because you can see how quickly they can put points on the board,” CHS coach Sean Jimenez said. “We’ve got to make sure we finish the game all the way to 0:00 … and not let up at all, whether it’s a one-point, a 15-point game, whatever it is, because they’ve got some offensive weapons.”

The Storm led by 10, 19-9, when the first period ended, and the teams stayed that far apart after each posted 14 in the second quarter and 22 in the third; even the fourth quarter was close, with the Storm edging the Rams 30-29.

The Rams had scored the first six points of the second half to get within four (33-29), but midway through the third quarter Cleveland was ahead by double digits, leading by as many as 17 points before settling for an 11-point victory.

It was too much Daniel Steverson for the Rams, now 15-28 all-time vs. their city foes.

The junior finished with a game-high 31 points, with 16 of those coming in the fourth quarter. He was driving, he was sinking free throws — 14 of 19 for the game – and even sank a 3-pointer. They put him at the line three times in the second quarter, and that gave the Storm six points.

Freshman Remy Albrecht was in his usual form,  with three 3-pointers on his way to 24 points, and Nic Trujillo was also in double figures with 10, including a dunk over the Rams;’ Jayden Johnson that brought the CHS student section to its feet in the second half.

With a crowd estimated at 1,500, both student sections were loud throughout the contest, and probably will be so again the evening of Feb. 16, when the Storm visit the RAC. Even the CHS pep band showed up for the sure-to-be exciting rivalry game.

The Rams were led by Johnson, who had 18 points; Maddox Presser dominated inside and was near-perfect at the foul line (8 of 9) on his way to 16 points. Josiah Marfil came off the bench to supply 11 points, matching starting guard Mikey Wood; Jerry Archuleta’s 10 points all came in the second half.

The Rams committed 19 turnovers; the Storm turned the ball over 11 times.

“We scored more than 33 tonight,” quipped RRHS coach Wally Salata, referring to the paltry output his team amassed in its loss to Volcano Vista on Jan. 27.

“Our defense tonight was a no-show. You can’t let Remy and Steverson (score so many points). We knew that coming in. They attacked the rim on us. I thought the second half was better; the first half, we didn’t come ready.”

“We have three of our first four home games in district at our place, and we had to make sure we’re 3-0 at home,” said CHS coach Sean Jimenez. “Now, you flip it: We’ve got three of four on the road.

The teams meet again Feb. 16 in the RAC, which will be the final regular-season games for both.

Volcano Vista 66, Cleveland 55: There was no way the No. 1 Hawks were going to let the Storm (17-6, 4-1) make an incredible comeback to beat them again in the Ring of Fire Thursday evening.

For those with short memories, the Hawks took a 47-game winning streak into the Thunderdome the afternoon of Jan. 21 and left with a one-game losing streak, after the Storm came back from a 33-11 deficit to win, 53-50.

Other than an 11-10 lead with less than two minutes to go in the opening period, the Hawks (21-1, 4-1) led the entire way.

A 13-2 run erased that Storm lead, and the Hawks led by as many as 10 in the second stanza, and held a 28-20 lead at intermission.

After layups by Steverson and Albrecht reduced that deficit to 28-24, the Hawks went back to work, pounding the ball inside to their 6-7 sophomore, Kenyon Aguino, who scored 13 of his game-high 33 points in the third quarter.

“We knew they were going to go down to him,” Jimenez said. “That’s their M.O. He was tough today, tough to guard today.”

The Storm were basically one-and-done in the first half; if they didn’t score form the field, Aguino or Sean Alter snagged the rebound and started a break the other way.

Although Volcano Vista only led 48-39 heading into the fourth quarter, the Hawks maintained their lead between 8-12 points the rest of the way.

Steverson led the Storm with 28 points and Trujillo had 17.

“They had a bunch of offensive rebounds. Their first six points were all off offensive rebounds, so when they do that, they’re tough to beat,” he said. “Our kids fought, they battled to the end, we’ve just got to back to the drawing board and get ready for Atrisco.”

If the Storm and Hawks win out, they’ll still be tied for first place in 1-5A, although the Hawks, with their 11-point win compared to a 3-point loss to the Storm, will have the edge.

Cleveland has just one game this week; the Storm are at Atrisco Heritage Academy Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Cleveland beat the Jaguars, 80-62, in their Jan. 24 meeting in the Thunderdome.

Rio Rancho 93, Los Alamos 57: For the second game in a row, the Rams (15-7) had five players scoring in double figures in this Saturday romp in Los Alamos.

The Rams ripped out to a 26-5 lead after the first period, and led 44-25 at halftime.

Salata, always happy to win quarters, wound up winning three of them vs. the Hilltoppers, as the Rams took the third quarter, 25-14, and the fourth, 24-18.

Wood and Marfil, with three 3s, led the Rams with 21 points each; Johnson and Sean Parisian had a dozen apiece; Presser added 10.

The Rams are home this evening (Feb.8) to meet Atrisco Heritage Academy at 7. RRHS won the teams’ first meeting, 53-51, at AHA on Jan. 29 on a buzzer-beater by Jamal Bynum.