Resurrection Christian beats Kent Denver in Class 4A boys title, giving Cougars first hoops championship

The Yoders are going to be talking about Saturday at family get-togethers for the rest of time.

A year after falling in the Class 4A championship, Resurrection Christian won its first boys hoops title by beating Kent Denver, 76-61, at the Denver Coliseum. The Cougars did it behind head coach Ryan Yoder and his son, junior point guard Ty Yoder.

Resurrection Christian led almost the whole game, then pulled away from Kent Denver in the second half behind Ty, who paced the team with 19 points, and three other players in double figures. Senior center Jacob Barker and junior guard Cade Crutcher both had 18 points, while senior forward Marcus Phillips had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“My favorite moment was this morning,” Ty Yoder said. “Me and my dad both woke up, and we said, ‘We’re going to go win a state championship tonight.’ And we did. We did it together.”

The game was fast-paced from the start, and the Cougars led 22-21 after one quarter despite 14 points from Kent Denver sophomore sensation Caleb Fay. Phillips had 10 in that quarter as the 5-foot-11 forward played much bigger than his size all night.

Behind Phillips and Barker, RCHS outscored Kent Denver 24-10 in the paint in the first half, a big reason why they jogged to the locker room with a 39-32 lead.

“In the first quarter, they couldn’t stop Marcus and we knew that,” Barker said. “They put these little kids on him, and it was like baby food out there. He was getting lay-ups. When they put a bigger dude on him, it opened it up for me, because they couldn’t guard us down low.”

In the third quarter, the Cougars began to distance themselves, prompting Sun Devils head coach Todd Schayes to put on the full-court press midway through the frame. That led to a couple turnovers and fast-break buckets, but the Cougars were largely unfazed, and held onto a 48-41 lead heading into the fourth.

In the final quarter, Kent Denver hit some big shots, but could never get close enough to make Resurrection Christian uncomfortable. The Cougars started consistently breaking the press that led to some fast-break buckets of their own. And when they got fouled, they continued to make their free throws. The Cougars were 24 of 28 from the stripe overall.

Ryan Yoder said his team handled pressure “extremely well” and was prepared for Saturday’s stage after playing a rigorous summer and fall schedule that included matchups against bigger-school powers such as ThunderRidge, Windsor, Mountain Vista and Regis Jesuit.

“We’ve got so many veteran, experienced guys,” Ryan Yoder said. “And when you’ve got experience, it gives you a lot more peace and calm you can handle pressure. We’ve been practicing for years (for what Kent Denver did in the second half).”

Kent Denver only led for a little over two minutes, late in the first quarter. Beyond that, it was all RCHS, which finished with a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint. Fay was outstanding in the defeat, dropping 25 points.

Resurrection Christian, which lost last year’s 4A title game to Holy Family by a score of 53-43, also fell in narrow fashion in 2A championship games to Sanford in 2015 and ’16. But the team’s balanced scoring effort on Saturday, and poise amid Kent Denver’s pressure, ensured there wouldn’t be a disappointing title result for the Loveland faithful this year.

“In some ways, I’m dedicating this championship to the 2020 team because they got to the Final Four and then COVID hit and they couldn’t play it out,” Ryan Yoder said. “They were No. 1-ranked, they were undefeated, and we got to finish (what they couldn’t).

“It’s an honor to be the first title (in school history), and it’s also an honor that it’s been since 1986 that a team from the Loveland area has won a championship, and since 1954 that a team from Fort Collins won a boys basketball championship. We’re honored to bring the title up north.”

The Cougars, the Patriot League champions, finished 26-2. Their lone losses came to Lutheran, which they avenged in the Final Four, and to Riverdale Ridge. The Sun Devils, the Metropolitan League champions, finished 25-3.

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