The Storm repel the Hornets; advance to second round of Metros

ALBUQUERQUE — The Cleveland Storm Basketball team (9-2) moved past Highland High School (4-7) at Albuquerque High School to advance to the next round of the Albuquerque Metro Tournament Jan. 8 with a final score of 72-50.

Second-year head coach Zack Cole's squad came ready to play and were lethal from downtown.

"What I've always told my boys, 'If you're a good team, you don't lose two-games in a row; we always bounce back,' and that was our challenge coming in tonight," Cole said.

The Storm boys drained eight 3-pointers, and hitting a couple himself was sophomore shooting guard Ajay Vigil.

"We are moving the ball; we are pressuring on defense," Vigil said. "We got good players all around; our bench is deep."

Leading the way for the Storm in scoring was junior Remy Albrecht with 28 points, and once again proving why he is one of the best players in the state.

"We are going to come from the jump," Albrecht said. "I want to shout out Brycen [Bowie]. He's up at 4:30 [a.m.] with me every morning, going to the gym."

Bowie, a sophomore point guard for the Storm, had a solid night as well, scoring 10 points, including a couple of 3-pointers.

The Storm squad hung around after the game to get an early look at their next opponent, La Cueva High School (6-5).

"We're feeling very motivated ... We do not want to lose another tournament. We want to keep that same aggression," forward Psalmon Kegler said.

The Storm will face off with La Cueva in the second round of the Metro tournament at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Albuquerque High School.