Years of frustrating close calls for the Cleveland Storm have finally been put aside.
Cleveland’s boys basketball résumé since 2015 had almost no noticeable flaws in a long run. This included seven semi-finals in a row, two championship games and this year number 1 for the postseason.
Only one thing was missing – exactly what the storm did on Saturday night when Cleveland won the Class 5A title 55-49 against Las Cruces No. 3, the defending champion, in the pits.
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“That was great,” said senior striker Tre Watson after a performance of 17 points and seven rebounds. “The chance to be the first team to ever do this is something spectacular.”
Cleveland (14-1) was a 2015 state finalist under former coach Brian Smith – the man, said current coach Sean Jimenez, who was responsible for building the program – and again in 2018 when the storm was struck by Atrisco Heritage.
But the Storm ended this basketball season like its soccer team a few weeks ago with a decisive victory over Las Cruces (14: 1) and a clear acceptance as the best team in New Mexico.
“As soon as we got the OK that we would have a season, I knew,” said Nate Hasberry, Cleveland senior guard, who also contributed 17 points. “We had a great group, we had a special group this year. I knew if we could just stick together as a team, just keep fighting, going one step at a time, practice after practice, game after game … we knew we would make it to this point. It feels great to finally win a state championship. “
Even so, this much anticipated last minute matchup was still very dubious.
Cleveland, 49-46 in the lead, saw junior guard Deuce Benjamin steal the ball for Las Cruces and head the other way 40 seconds to go. His pull-up 3-hand was off, however, and that was the Bulldawgs’ last best hope.
“I had a feeling it was going in,” said Benjamin. “We had a chance to win and that was it right there. It was a good failure. “
The storm later sealed it with four free throws; Evan Gonzales’ first two were the most important as they put Cleveland in the lead by 13.6 seconds, 53-49.
Previously for Cleveland there were two major baskets in the fourth quarter.
The first was from the 6-foot-5 Watson who was headed right in the 6-11 center of Las Cruces, Isaiah Carr, who had blocked Cleveland gun attempts all night. Watson rose, made contact, scored, and ended the game with a three-point game. That completed a 9-0 run – moments after an 11-0 run at Las Cruces – and the storm led 44:38 a minute into the fourth quarter.
“He’s a next level gamer,” Jimenez said of Watson, “and next level players make games like this for you in a high school setting.”
The other critical basket came from Junior Guard Cole Savage, who hadn’t spent much time on the floor until then.
Savage hit a 3-pointer 3:28 for a 47-40 lead – after just missing one 3 seconds earlier. An offensive rebound kept this journey alive.
“We do a target practice every day and he’s always in the top two,” said Jimenez. “He’s one of the top shooters on the team. I know he didn’t shoot the whole game, but this guy is tough. “
Those were Savage’s only three points of the night.
Las Cruces coach William Benjamin pondered one statistic in particular: the eight sales his team made in the first half that led to 14 Cleveland points. The storm led 31-25 at halftime.
“Sales in the first half,” he said. “That was the difference.”
The Bulldawgs’ two best players, Benjamin and Carr, are both juniors. Benjamin had 21 points and five assists on Saturday. Carr had 17 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks.
“They are a great team,” said coach Benjamin. “And I’ve got them all back.”
NOT. 1 CLEVELAND 55, NO. 3 THE CROSSES 49
LAS CRUCES (14-1): David Cruz 1-4 0-0 3, Dustin Hicks 2-6 0-0 4, Kaden Self 2-6 0-0 4, Deuce Benjamin 7-20 5-7 21, Isaiah Carr 7-11 3-3 17, Suge Valles 0-1 0-0 0. Overall 19-48 8-10 49.
CLEVELAND (14-1): Tre Watson 6-13 5-7 17, Evan Gonzales 1-8 4-4 6, Nate Hasberry 6-10 4-4 17, Jeff Davison 1-2 0-0 2, Antonio Avila 4-8 0-0 8, Lucas Lovato 0-4 0-0 0, Cole Savage 1-3 0-0 3, Trey Ortega 1-2 0-0 2nd overall 20-50 13-15 55.
Las Cruces 10 15 13 11-49
Cleveland 12 19 10 14-55
3-point goals: LC 3-10 (Benjamin 2-6, Cruz 1-4); C 2-10 (Hasberry 1-1, Savage 1-2, Gonzales 0-3, Lovato 0-2, Avila 0-1, Watson 0-1). Rebounds: LC 33 (Carr 14); C 28 (Watson 7). Assists: LC 9 (Benjamin 5); C 10 (Gonzales 3). Field target percentage: LC 39.6%; C 40%. Total fouls: LC 12; C 9. Steals: LC 4 (Benjamin 3); C 10 (Watson, Avila 3). Blocked Shots: LC 9 (Carr 8); C2 (Watson, Hasberry). Conversions: LC 14; C 8.
