Resurrection Christian will get a shot at redemption.
A year removed from losing in the Class 4A boys championship last year, the Cougars will play in the title game for the second straight season. They defeated No. 3 Lutheran, 51-45, in the Final Four on Friday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum.
The Cougars (25-2) will face No. 1 Kent Denver on Saturday. The Sun Devils used a 68-56 win over Colorado Academy earlier in the day to secure a spot in the championship.
“The job is not finished. There’s so much work left,” Cougars guard Ty Yoder said. “We’re more mature than we were last year, and hungry.”
Resurrection Christian trailed for the entire first half before establishing control in the fourth quarter. Yoder buried a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner, and then forward Jacob Foster was fouled while converting a layup to take a 38-28 lead with 5:11 left in regulation.
The Cougars’ double-digit lead was cut in half after Lutheran’s Isaiah Williams converted a layup with 3:28 on the clock. With 1:57 left, Lions guard Lalo Gonzales buried a 3-pointer to trim the lead down to 43-40.
Ultimately, free-throw shooting was the difference-maker. While Lutheran shot a dreadful 5 for 14 from the charity stripe, Yoder made a pair with a minute remaining to help the Cougars pull away with the win.
The Cougars were 22 for 28 from the free-throw line. Yoder, who finished with 13 points, was a perfect 8 for 8.
“There’s nothing the defense can do. It’s just you, the basketball and the hoop,” Yoder said. “I feel the most confident (at the free throw line).”
With forwards Kade Speckman, 6-foot-9, and Hunter Caldwell, 6-foot-10, controlling the paint, the Lions jumped out to an 11-6 advantage in the first. Both players combined to score all of Lutheran’s points in the opening frame as Resurrection Christian struggled to deal with the size disadvantage.
Lutheran increased its lead to eight points with 4:26 left in the second quarter before Cougars forward Jacob Barker took over. Barker scored six straight points to cut the deficit to 20-16 with 1:45 left in the half.
Even though Caldwell was efficient in the first half, recording eight points (4-for-6 shooting) and six rebounds, Lutheran couldn’t score a basket in the final 2:30 of the second quarter and went 1 for 6 from the 3-point line.
The Cougars’ momentum from the second carried into the third quarter. Barker nailed a 3-pointer before Cade Crutcher drove to the rim for a layup that gave his team a 25-23 lead. Both baskets were part of a 13-3 scoring run that helped the Cougars take a five-point lead with under two minutes left in the quarter.
Barker finished with a team-best 18 points and six rebounds.
Throughout the season, the Cougars used last year’s championship loss as motivation. That painful memory played through their minds on Friday, fueling them to outscore the Cougars 35-25 in the second half.
“We’re going home tonight to (prepare) for tomorrow. We don’t want a disappointment like last year,” Barker said.
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