OKLAHOMA CITY – One last half of his high school basketball career, and Kingfisher point guard Bijan Cortes made it count.

The Oklahoma signee let his final minutes be his finest ones in helping No. 1-ranked Kingfisher to a 48-40 victory against No. 2 Heritage Hall in the Class 4A state championship Saturday evening at State Fair Arena.

Cortes scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as Kingfisher had to overcome a 36-28 deficit late in the third quarter and did just that, ending the game on a 20-4 run.

“Oh, this feels great,” Cortes said. “Another one. Incredible.”

Indeed, another one and another great battle vs. the Chargers. Heritage Hall took round one back in the 2018 championship. Kingfisher returned the favor in 2019, and now the Yellowjackets had to do everything they could to earn the rubber match.

Cortes had been measured throughout the first two games of the state tournament, taking what the defense had been giving him. With nothing left to save it for, he came out of the gate firing with the team’s first seven points.

Cortes picked up his second foul early in the second quarter, and Heritage Hall, led by Auburn signee Trey Alexander, took full advantage. The Chargers led by as much as 27-16 and had a 27-20 lead at halftime.

The future Sooners point guard couldn’t stay out of foul trouble and picked up his fourth foul with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but he was well on his way to turning the game around.

Cortes scored nine of his 23 in the fourth quarter and finished with seven rebounds and three assists as well. When it mattered most, Cortes was money at the free throw line and finished 9 of 11 from the line.

“We just had to keep playing, keep playing solid,” said Cortes about the mentality in the second half. “Fourth quarter, it was time to go out there and execute the plays. That’s what we did. It was time to execute.”

Cortes had some help from North Texas signee Matthew Stone, who added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Alexander scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, but Kingfisher made him work every step of the way, and eventually the shots that fell in the first half were coming up short in the final minutes.

This is what it was supposed to be, No. 1 vs. No. 2. Cortes and Alexander, not only Power 5 signees, but teammates on Team Griffin. One last opportunity for them to make their mark for Oklahoma high school, and they did just that.

Cortes can get overlooked, at times, but he showed throughout the tournament why OU wanted him and why he’ll fit in so well.

His ability to distribute the ball was top-notch all three games, and the poise to which he played with two fouls in the second, three fouls in the third and four for the final 5:45 was a lesson in how it’s supposed to be done.

As he turned to the Kingfisher student section after the final buzzer, it was mission accomplished.

“It’s crazy,” Cortes said. “Four years, two state championships. It’s awesome.”