RCS RETURNS TO GREAT 8
Cougar boys make adjustments to beat Steamboat Springs in 4A playoffs
The Resurrection Christian boys basketball team hadn’t seen many defenses as hard to penetrate as Steamboat Springs’ triangle and two.
So, after two quarters of struggling to get the ball to their leading scorers and having trouble scoring at all, the Cougars made some halftime adjustments and turned a deficit at the break into a tied game at the end of three quarters.
It eventually turned out best, as a 46-35 victory in their Class 4A Sweet 16 game Saturday at RCS.
With the win, the No. 2 seed Cougars (21-4) advanced back to the Great 8 and will face No. 23 seed The Classical Academy on Friday at the Denver Coliseum. RCS has won 21 of its past 22 games.
“Their defense was outstanding,” RCS head coach Ryan Yoder said. “Their triangle and two isn’t something you see very often because most teams can’t execute it well. But when they face guarded Ty (Yoder) and Cade (Crutcher), our two primary shooters and playmakers and triangled the other three guys, there aren’t a lot of plays you can design to go against a man and zone combo.
“We adjusted at halftime. Credit to our coaches, they came up with some plays on the spot to get the ball down low, to get some more screens from our guys, just create more movement and thank goodness our guys stepped up and made some plays.”
RCS trailed at the end of the first quarter and at halftime, although not by more than four points. They closed the gap in the third quarter and the teams went into the final period tied at 31.
The Cougars scored six quick points on a three-point play by
Jacob Barker and a 3-pointer by Crutcher. They never trailed again.
“I feel like we really started to play together more on offense,” Crutcher said. “Defensively, we just shut them down and stuck to our principles and did what we know how to do. The coaches put in a new game plan, and I feel like we executed it pretty well.”
Steamboat Springs cut the RCS lead to two at 3735, but the Sailors wouldn’t score again as the Cougars closed the game on a 9-0 run.
Yoder, the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, was held to only two until he was sent to the free throw line three times in the final minute and made all six of his shots.
“We just came out and found a way to combat their triangle and two that they were doing,” RCS’ Marcus Phillips said. “That was crucial. In the first half, we couldn’t get it, but we got it in the fourth quarter and that’s what let us win the game.”
After jumping out to a 6-0 lead to start the game, the Sailors began to establish their defense and held the Cougars to only four more points in the period after that to lead 14-10 after the first eight minutes.
Steamboat Springs went ahead by as many as eight, at 21-13, in the second quarter before the Cougars closed the period on a 6-0 run, all coming on free throws, to trail 21-19 at the break.
After making the necessary adjustments to combat the Sailors’ defense, the Cougars scored the first eight points of the third quarter to go ahead 2724. They were able to hold the lead until Steamboat Springs closed the period with a 5-0 run after RCS went ahead 31-26.
One key for the Cougars was getting other players involved when Ty Yoder and Crutcher were being guarded closely. Crutcher finished with 12 points, Jacob Barker 11 and Phillips 10.
“We count on Ty and Cade to score, and Jacob Barker for sure, we got enough guys in double figures to carry the load,” Ryan Yoder said. “They are a really, really good team. They play incredibly hard. Their defense is outstanding. Their offense is incredibly patient.
They make you defend for a long time. That was a good test for us in preparation heading into the Elite 8 for sure.”
Now just three wins away from their ultimate goal of a state championship, the Cougars will face a Classical Academy team that upset No. 7 seed Eaton, 54-51, ending the possibility of a Patriot League rematch between the Cougars and Reds in the Great 8.