Cleveland wins nail bitter against Santa Fe; Cole beats former team

It was an instant classic and a battle all night. However, when the clock hit zero, Cleveland ended up with a win at home and gave Santa Fe its first loss of the season. The final: Cleveland 80, Santa Fe 74.

It was a big win for Cleveland basketball and for head coach Zack Cole as he faced his former team.

“We stayed together, made enough plays and were able to pull it out in the end,” Cole said.

Cole was the Santa Fe head coach for seven years and compiled a 125-63 record for the Demons.

“It was a little nerve-racking coming in, but I also know the opponent really well. They have hearts of steel, and they are extremely well coached. They are great kids; they work really hard, and we knew we were going to be in for a fight,” Cole said.

At one point in the game, a fiery Cole could be seen arguing with officials about a call. Immediately after, he started laughing, then patted the back of one of the Santa Fe players.

“That was Sam Soveranez, their point guard. I love that kid … he worked so hard for me. So, we have a great relationship, you know. He came over and started talking, and I just valued that moment because I got to talk to him for a little bit,” an emotional Cole said while speaking about his former player.

The game featured outstanding performances from two of the best players in the state: Santa Fe’s Lukas Turner and, of course, Cleveland standout Daniel Steverson.

“We came in and handled our business. When you’re playing a team like that, you affect the game in many different ways and just see what happens,” Steverson said. “That’s my guy Lukas; we play on the same AAU team, so it’s all friendly competition between us.”

Steverson racked up 28 points on the night and filled in the stat sheets in every category, including a couple of blocks, three 3-pointers and a couple of jams that energized the whole stadium.

Joining Steverson in the double digits were his brother, and eighth grader, Darius Steverson, who finished with 11 points; and sophomore Remy Albrecht, who finished with 17 points.

At halftime, Cleveland began to pull away with an 11-point lead. But Turner and the Santa Fe Demons would not go away.

Santa Fe punched back, and the teams began to exchange leads. Turner was the leading scorer for Santa Fe and was lethal as a 3-point shooter.

However, the heroes of the night were Cleveland’s Noah Padilla and Isaiah Sandoval, both seniors.

“We wanted to attack at about the eight-second mark; we went a little sooner than that. But, Noah Padilla’s offensive rebound, that kid is unbelievable. He’s tough, and he makes those type of game-winning plays for us,” Cole said.

With seconds remaining in the game, Padilla snagged an offensive rebound, then dished out the rock to Sandoval, who hit a 3 with four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Cleveland a 77-74 lead.

“I’m still shaking a little. It was a big moment, and this was a huge game, for our team and for our coach,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval hit the shot of his life and capped one of the best games in Cleveland history.

“I think everyone knows what good of a team we are,and how far we are going to go this season. Watch out for the Storm! We are coming for state this year,” Sandoval said.

Santa Fe falls to 4-1 on the season while Cleveland improves to 3-0.

Cleveland’s next game will be at home against Miyamura at 6 p.m. Dec. 14, the first game in the Cleveland Tourney.