Simon Lunsford, back months after broken leg, leads Green Mountain boys basketball game into Class 5A title game
After taking down Falcon in the Class 5A Final Four at Denver Coliseum, the 16th-seeded Green Mountain Rams are one win away from their first state title in 33 years.
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The moment Simon Lunsford returned, everything changed for the Green Mountain boys basketball team.
A team mired in a 4-7 start transformed into a Class 5A contender overnight. And now, after taking down No. 21 Falcon 77-67 in Friday night’s Final Four Cinderella showdown inside Denver Coliseum, the 16th-seeded Rams are one win away from their first state title in 33 years.
“We’re making a legacy here. We’re putting our names in the history books and it means the world to us,” Lunsford said as a raucous student section serenaded his teammates in a corner of the Coliseum.
“I said last week that the (Green Mountain) state championship teams, we talk about them all the time. We represent them when we wear the (striped warmup) pants. So, we’ve got them in mind and we’re excited.”
Those guys are, too.
In fact, several members of Green Mountain’s two championship teams — 1980 and 1992 — were in the building to watch the latest version of the Runnin’ Rams do their thing.
That Lunsford, a three-sport star and starting quarterback for Green Mountain’s football team, is among those Rams is a minor miracle.
The 6-foot-3 senior suffered a gruesome injury in Green Mountain’s 3A quarterfinal win over Severance on Nov. 22. The total damage: A broken right fibula, torn ligaments in his ankle, a displaced right ankle and a shot at a state football title taken away.
And yet less than two months later, after surgery and rehabilitation, there he was suiting up for the Rams just in time for the heart of conference play on Jan. 13.
“He’s not human,” said Green Mountain coach Mike Puccio, one of three Rams alumni on the coaching staff. “He’s a dog. He’s an animal. And he’s worked really hard at it. The rehab, the mental fortitude, he’s had a long journey. And for him to come back and do what he does is special.”
Green Mountain (18-9 overall) has gone 14-2 since Lunsford’s return, including four straight playoff wins and an upset of No. 1 Lutheran in the second round.
“It means the world,” Lunsford said. “I can’t believe it. I’m at a loss for words. Football was taken away from me like that. So it’s so nice to play in state.”
The Rams’ length, shooting and speed in transition on Friday night proved too much for Falcon (18-9), which shot just 3 of 13 from 3-point range and gave up seven 3s.
Junior point guard Tre Gutierrez got the Rams train rolling with 14 points and two assists on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half. He finished with 24 points, four assists and two steals.
Lunsford helped close the door with 14 of his team-high 24 points in the third quarter. That included a pair of 3s and a resounding two-handed stuff in transition for a 58-36 lead with 1:19 left in the frame.
Jack Swanson added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Rams, who will face the winner of Friday’s nightcap between No. 2 Mesa Ridge and No. 6 Windsor in the 5A final at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. It’s the Rams’ first title game trip since 1994.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Puccio said. “When your best guy is out … Tre has to get better. Tre has to lead the team. They can’t rely on Simon. Well, then you get Simon back. Then they got to get to know each other. And now here we are and we’re kind of rolling on all cylinders, and it’s been magical.”
Falcon made a late push to draw within 10 in the final minute, but it turned out to be too little, too late for a team chasing its first title game trip in program history.
Tyler Cox scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Falcon, while Jeramiah Potts had 11 points and Logan Logan and Aiden Wood had 10 points apiece.
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