Storm boys rally from 13 down to beat Jaguars

RIO RANCHO – Twenty-four games into his stint as Cleveland High School boys’ basketball coach, Zack Cole agreed his team’s 95-91 victory over Atrisco Heritage Academy was his biggest win to date. That impressive win left the two tied for second place in District 1-5A heading into the final week of the regular season.

After all, the No. 3 Jaguars (19-5, 5-2) were coming off a 75-64 victory over the City of Vision’s other team, Rio Rancho, two nights earlier, and boasted one of the state’s best 1-2 scoring punches in junior point guard Latavious Morris and senior forward Marquise Renfro, who’d each dropped in 22 points vs. the Rams.

“They’re just really good players,” Cole said, “and even when they do miss, they’re gonna come right back and take another shot. They’re extremely confident.”

Morris and Renfro combined for 11 points in the opening quarter, which ended with the Jaguars ahead, 21-19. A 10-point lead, 19-9, was whittled away as the No. 4 Storm (18-6, 3-3) closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run.

By halftime, Morris and Renfro had 36 of their team’s points, as the Jaguars’ lead was four at halftime, 51-47.

Atrisco Heritage Academy led for all but a few seconds of the second stanza, as Stratton Shufelt’s layup, after a 3-pointer by Daniel Steverson, gave CHS a 28-27 lead.

Once again, the Storm erased a 10-point deficit, this time with a 9-3 run to close out the first half.

The third period was a repeat of the first two quarters, although this time Kadarius Sims combined with Morris and Renfro accounted for 21 of the Jaguars’ 21 points, and AHA led by as many as 13 (64-51) before the Storm again closed out the period on a run to get within 74-72 entering the fourth quarter.

What turned out to be the Jaguars’ last lead, 82-78, was erased by a 3 from Noah Padilla and a layup by eighth-grader Darius Steverson, which followed a bad-pass turnover by AHA.

The game was tied twice after that, at 84 and 86, and it turned out to be a contest lasting 1:34.

After a series of long passes, Daniel Steverson’s 3 from in front of the Storm bench gave the Storm the lead to keep, and after Morris missed a 3, Shufelt grabbed the rebound and the Jaguars resorted to fouling.

The next six points came off Storm free throws, with their lead then 95-86. Morris closed out the scoring with a layup and a 3 that beat the buzzer, giving each team a four-point victory over the other.

Morris had a game-high 37, Renfro had 27 and Sims added 20.

Daniel Steverson paced the Storm with 34, his brother had 16, Padilla came up with 13 and Shufelt – playing arguably his best game in the paint – also had 13 before fouling out.

“How many times did (Shufelt) get downhill, get to the basket and finish? We’re really proud of him,” Cole said. “(And) Darius … was fearless.”

The Storm have two games remaining: They’re at last-place Cibola on Feb. 20 and home to meet the Rams on the 22nd. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.