Rez boys get edge on Eaton

Cougars win Patriot League title outright

Even with first place in the Patriot League locked up, there was still plenty for the Resurrection Christian boys to play for in Friday’s regular season basketball finale.

Those reasons included — but weren’t limited to — improving state playoff seeding, honoring the program’s veterans on senior night and confirming that a January loss at Eaton was merely a fluke.

A 67-64 home win over the Reds checked all of those boxes.

“These guys have big goals,” Cougars head coach Ryan Yoder said. “We said at the start of the year: ‘conference championship, regional championship, state championship.’ So just because we have the first one, we’re still playing for seeding and we’re playing for more than just this. But we’re honored to have won the league … Eaton’s a real good team.”

RCS (19-4, 11-1 Class 4A Patriot) now enters the state playoffs having won 19 of its last 20 regular season games, including its final eight.

The Cougars found their groove early on both sides of the ball, jumping out to a 12-0 lead about four minutes into the first quarter. Six-foot-11 Cougars junior Jacob Barker even added some flair with a blocked shot.

“To start off a game like that, it really brings the energy up and it brings the emotions up,” senior Cody Michaelson said.

Led by Michaelson and Ty Yoder, RCS followed a similar script in the second quarter and entered halftime up 39-31.

The first-half Reds didn’t much match the second-half Reds, however. After Yoder and Michaelson scored a combined 21 points in the first half, Eaton locked down on defense and held both scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. Cade Crutcher, who scored 10 in the game’s first 16 minutes, was also limited to one point following intermission.

Eaton tied things at 50, 54 and 56 before Ty Yoder drained a midrange jumper to put RCS ahead for good. The sophomore then converted eight free throw attempts in the final three minutes.

“I’m really proud of him,” Ryan Yoder said. “We want him with the ball at the end not only because he can hit free throws, but because he’s a tremendous ball handler.”

Likewise, Marcus Phillips delivered in crunch time with 12 of his 14 total points coming in the second half. Ty Yoder finished with a team-high 23 points, Michaelson added eight and Barker pitched in six.

After the win, Michaelson and fellow seniors Charlie Riggs and Jackson Bethune were first to cut the net honoring their league championship.