BOULDER, Colo.—Marquis Burleson hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer Saturday night, and Sierra erased an 18-point halftime deficit to stun Pueblo South with a 52-51 victory in the Class 4A state title game at the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center.
Trailing 51-50 with 6.2 seconds to play, Burleson, who finished with 4 points, lofted an 8-foot jumper in the paint that hit the back of the rim and fell through the hoop, sending Sierra fans into a frenzy that lasted several minutes.
Kamryn Williams scored a game-high 18 points for Sierra (23-5), a No. 1 seed from the Colorado Springs Metro League, which won its third state championship in school history and first since 2000.
Tyrell Williams scored 14 points, and Kameron Wilhite added 11 for top-seeded Pueblo South (27-1), from the South Central League, which saw its perfect season come to an end after starting the game promisingly. Perhaps more crushing for the Colts is head coach Dave Lockett is planning to retire.
Pueblo South, which shot 41 percent from the field in the first half, was awful in the second, going 24 percent on 4-of-17 shooting. The Colts finished the game at 33 percent.
Sierra was 25 percent in the first half and a mind-boggling 65 percent from the field in the second, finishing at 43 percent, 22 of 51.
Pueblo South didn’t trail until Kamryn Williams hit a 12-foot jumpshot with 5:04 to play in the game, giving Sierra a 43-41 lead and finishing an 11-0 run.
With the game tied (47-47) with 2:09 remaining, Jahmall Fountain scored, and Sierra retook the lead, 49-47.
Jevon Hall then hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 49-49, and Josh Dome had a driving layup off a steal with 1:22 that gave Pueblo South a 51-49 advantage.
Fountain was fouled on Sierra’s ensuing possession, converting 1 of 2 free-throw attempts and setting the stage for Burleson’s heroics.
The Colts raced to an 8-0 lead and an 18-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Pueblo South’s big lead of the first half was 20 points (35-15) when Brandon Kliesen hit two free throws with 1:19 left, capping an 11-0 Pueblo South run.
The Colts then took a 35-17 lead at the break.
Sierra stormed back in the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run to begin the period and cutting the deficit to 35-27 with 4:53 to play on a basket by Kamryn Williams.
The Stallions then managed to trim Pueblo South’s lead to 7 points, 41-34, by the end of the quarter.
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