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Mar. 14—Kingfisher (25-1) defeated Heritage Hall 48-40 on Saturday night to defend its state championship title behind a 23-point game from senior guard Bijan Cortes.
The Yellowjackets’ senior class finished their careers 107-4 overall and have won back-to-back state championships after the 2020 Class 4A State Championship was canceled due to COVID-19.
“It feels great,” Kingfisher head coach Jared Reese said when asked about winning back-to-back state titles. “Especially the way we did it … losing most of the game and to come back at the end … it’s a great feeling.”
Heritage Hall and Kingfisher have now faced off in the last three state championship games with the Yellowjackets winning the last two.
Reese said that the history the two teams share was even more motivation for the defending champs.
“Of course there is,” Reese said when asked if his team had a little more motivation facing the Chargers. “Anytime you win or lose in a state championship game and you face that team again, there’s a lot more to it.”
Kingfisher trailed 27-20 at the break after a big first half from Heritage Hall’s Trey Alexander, who scored 16 points and four rebounds.
Alexander, an Auburn commit, was just one of three players on the floor Saturday night who will be playing Division 1 college basketball next season (Bijan Cortes — Oklahoma, Matthew Stone — North Texas) with the other two playing for the Yellowjackets.
Kingfisher trailed by as many as 12 points early in the game and things didn’t seem to be getting any better to start the second half when Cortes missed two 3-pointers and picked up his third foul of the game.
“We didn’t do a lot differently,” Reese said of his second half adjustments. “They made some hard shots in the first half and we just hoped that they wouldn’t make those in the second half.”
Both teams were playing with more energy in the third quarter as Kingfisher started to find its stroke from deep. Stone hit one from well behind the line to cut the deficit to five and then the Yellowjackets got a stop on the other end.
On the ensuing possession, Cortes drove into the paint and found Maverick Ridenour wide open behind the arc.
Ridenour calmly knocked down the buzzer beater which brought the Yellowjackets within one possession going into the final quarter of the season.
Maverick Ridenour was given the task of guarding Alexander. Even though he typically makes a bigger impact on the offensive end, Stone held Alexander to just two points in the second half.
“He’s been a great shooter for us his whole career … ” Reese said. “It hasn’t been his calling card (on the defensive end) in prior years, but he came out and did a great job on (Alexander).”
Kingfisher came out firing in the fourth quarter starting with two 3-pointers by Cortes which gave them a one-point lead. Cortes finished the game with 23 points on four of seven shooting with all seven of his attempts coming from the 3-point line.
Cortes’ biggest impact came at the charity stripe where he knocked down nine-of-11 free throw attempts. The senior also added seven rebounds and three assists.
“In this state tournament in particular … he’s been a great teammate, but he really put the team on his back … When we needed big shots tonight, he hit them, and he’s a big time player. That’s why he’s going to OU.”
The Oklahoma commit was in foul trouble early in the second half when he picked up his third and fourth fouls but managed to go the remainder of the fourth quarter without fouling out.
The Chargers were held to just four points in the fourth quarter and 13 points in the entire second half. Shots that had been falling for Heritage Hall in the first half weren’t having the same success in the second, and the team made just one of their eight attempts from deep.
With the win, the Yellowjackets extended their winning streak to 20 straight games.
Masri is sports editor for the Enid News & Eagle.
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