2A boys basketball: Yuma defeats Sanford for third title in five years

LOVELAND – Three years removed from its last state title, the Yuma boys basketball team is back on top in Class 2A. 

Top seed Yuma took the lead late in the first quarter and cruised for the remaining three periods for a 59-43 victory over No. 3 seed Sanford in the state championship game at the Budweiser Events Center on Saturday. 

It was Yuma’s sixth title and first since 2019 when it won the second of back-to-back championships.

“We worked really hard to get here,” Yuma senior Clay Robinson said. “With the Covid years and all that stuff, it just means a lot to finally get in this building and get a W again. It’s just amazing. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. We’ve been through it all with these guys and I just can’t ask for anything more.”

Robinson gave Yuma an 11-10 lead with a basket to end the first quarter and Yuma began to pull away in the second period. 

Yuma scored the first four points of the second quarter and went on an 11-2 run to go ahead 22-13 and eventually scored 19 points in the period to lead 30-18 at halftime. 

“With our pressure stuff, we are looking to get into people’s legs and I think we were able to do that. We did get some turnovers and we were able to make some runs there,” Yuma head coach Dave Sheffield said. “So, it’s just a wearing down process and I think we were able to get to them and put the game at the pace that we wanted. It started having a residual effect down the road.”

Robinson opened the half with a 3-pointer for Yuma as it continued to extend its lead in the third quarter. 

The senior had 21 of his game-high 23 points in the first three periods as Yuma took a 43-22 lead into the final quarter. 

“We run a pretty deep bench and they do not run a very deep bench and we just knew that we had to keep fresh guys and just run them out of the gym and that’s what we did and that’s how we executed,” Robinson said. 

Yuma took its largest lead midway through the fourth quarter at 54-31 before Sanford closed the game with a 12-2 run. 

Sheffield began pulling his starters and seniors to standing ovations from the Yuma crowd in attendance.

“It was amazing,” Robinson said. “I can’t come out any other way so there was nothing more that I could ask for.

In addition to Robinson’s 23 points, Beau Tate had 14 for Yuma, which finished the season with a 25-1 record. 

“It’s just a culmination of these dudes doing a lot of incredible work,” Sheffield said. “The’ve spend their summers, they’ve spent their offseasons, they’ve worked together. There’s no issues with this group. They’re really cohesive. The celebration is for these guys and all that they’ve done. They’ve just worked their tails off.”

Cash Caldon had 15 points to lead Sanford (22-5). McCray Larsen added 12. 

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Third place game 

(4) Denver Christian 41, (2) Limon 37

Denver Christian broke a third-quarter tie with a four-point advantage in the third quarter to take the third-place game over Limon. 

The game was tied at 30 at the end of three quarters before the Thunder outscored the Badgers 11-7 over the final eight minutes. Aiden Cariveau made a 3-pointer midway through the period to give Denver Christian a 39-37 lead and the Thunder never trailed again. 

Denver Christian (21-5) bounced back from its semifinal loss Friday to top-seeded Yuma. 

The first three quarters went back-and-forth as Denver Christian led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter and 20-18 at halftime. 

Limon used a third-quarter run to tie the game after three quarters and set up the tie-breaking quarter for Denver Christian. 

Ben Buhler led Denver Christian with 15 points. Xander Neu added 11 for the Thunder. 

Jordan Rockwell and Trey Hines each had nine for Limon (22-5).