BOULDER – Jorge Gutierrez has the aura of a rock star when he steps onto the basketball court.

The long hair, the intense look, the swagger.

Saturday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, he whipped the Lincoln fans into a frenzy as he led the Lancers to a 63-52 victory over Ralston Valley in the Class 4A state championship game.



It was Lincoln's first state championship in boys basketball, and the first title for the school since winning a cross country state title in 1968.

Gutierrez, who moved to the United States two years ago from Mexico, scored a game-best 18 points while leading the Lancers on a breath-taking pace. Ralston Valley couldn't keep up.

After the Mustangs trimmed the Lincoln lead to 31-29 early in the third quarter, Gutierrez brought the Lincoln fans to their feet with a behind-the-back pass to Francisco Cruz for an easy layup to start a 12-2 scoring run by the Lancers. Gutierrez ended the run by tipping in a missed shot by Saul Torres, which gave Lincoln a 43-31 lead. Torres finished off the Lancers 21-point quarter with a three-pointer from the corner of the court as the buzzer sounded. Ralston Valley (24-4) could not get closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

Gutierrez speaks mostly Spanish, but he knew the right words to sum up the victory: "We were just better than them," he said. "It's the first time (for the school) so it's very cool. We’re very excited."

Ralston Valley had beaten the Lancers 64-61 when the teams met at mid-season. But Mustangs sophomore forward Pierce Hornung, who had led the Mustangs with phenomenal rebounding and timely scoring in four state tournament games, fell into foul trouble in the second half of Saturday's game. He picked up his fourth foul with five minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter, sending him to the bench just as Lincoln (20-7) was pulling away from the Mustangs. He didn't return until the fourth quarter, with the Lancers leading by 12 points.

"He got a couple tough calls and he made a reach when he shouldn't have one time that got him in trouble," Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad said. "He's gotten in trouble a couple times this season, but not against this level of competition."

The Mustangs couldn't find their mark from the three-point line, either. With the Lancers contesting every shot, Ralston Valley hit just four of 17 three-point attempts.

The longer college court was a perfect match for Lincoln. The Lancers hit 12 of 20 field goals in the second half. Francisco Cruz was a perfect seven-for-seven from the field in the game, finishing with 16 points, and Kadeem Thomas scored 15.

"We come out so quick and with so much energy," Thomas said. "Sometimes we die down a little bit, but it took them awhile to adjust. I think we really shared the ball with each other on offense."

Lincoln coach Vince Valdez said his team was at a low point in the season when they faced Ralston Valley the first time. They were worn down from facing a tough schedule of mainly 5A teams after the Christmas break, but the Lancers were a fresher, hungrier team Saturday night.

"I think we were faster and we were in better shape this time around," he said.



Valdez had tears in his eyes as the Lancers claimed the first place trophy at center court with the Lincoln fans cheering on. Valdez said his diverse team, which has several players from Mexico and one from the Sudan, had many obstacles to overcome to claim their first state title.

"There were some tears," he said. "This was an emotional season. But I think these young men gave a lot of people a lesson in resilience."

Brock Hornung led Ralston Valley with 17 points, and Zach Johnson scored 10 points.

Lincoln 10 15 21 17 -- 63

Ralston Valley 15 8 12 17 -- 52

L -- Jorge Gutierrez 6 6-8 18, Francisco Cruz 7 2-4 16, Kadeem Thomas 5 3-5 15, Saul Torres 2 0-0 5, Ruot Pal 3 1-2 7, Erick Preciado 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 12-19 63.

RV -- Zach Johnson 4 0-0 10, Kevin Webber 0 0-0 0, Grant Hamilton 1 0-0 3, Pierce Hornung 7 1-4 15, Brock Hornung 4 9-11 17, Tim Flageolle 1 0-0 2, Dane June 1 0-1 2, Tanner Jones 1 0-0 3. Totals 19 10-16 52.

Three-point goals -- L, Thomas 2, Torres; RV, Johnson 2, Hamilton, Jones.



Class 4A All-Tournament Team

Player, School Ht. Yr.

Jorge Gutierrez, Lincoln 6-2 Sr.

Pierce Hornung, Ralston Valley 6-3 So.

Zach Johnson, Ralston Valley 5-10 Sr.

Julien McCollum, Widefield 6-2 Jr.

Kadeem Thomas, Lincoln 5-7 Sr.



Most Valuable Player: Jorge Gutierrez, Lincoln