黑料福利社

SPOKANE, Wash. - Imperfect. Inconsistent.

Those were words Brian Bosma, even on the cusp of the state tournament, could've used to describe his team.

Saturday he got to add another word to that lexicon.

Champion.

Behind a magnificently dominating defensive performance from senior Brandon Broersma, Sunnyside Christian capped a somewhat unexpected championship run with a gritty 44-36 victory over Neah Bay in Saturday's Class 1B boys state title game in the Spokane Arena.

"I didn't expect it, so I don't know how to feel," Bosma said of winning a title in his first year as head coach. "I wasn't sure we could get it done, but the thing was wide open, so why not us?"

Why not indeed.

Although these Knights, led by the senior trio of Broersma, Alex Brouwer and Drew Puterbaugh, had their struggles, particularly on offense, they learned how to minimize those weaknesses while taking full advantage of their defensive prowess and ability to control the ball and pace of games to produce the program's fifth 1B title and eighth overall.

"That's the way we've played all year," said Broersma, who used his 6-foot-7 frame to maximum affect, blocking a 1B tournament-record 11 shots while also leading a 40-29 rebounding advantage by grabbing 13 - all on the defensive end - and scoring 12 points.

"We came together as a team," guard Brant Bosma said.

"We just had to trust in what we've done all season and play our game," said Brouwer, who had a game-high 13 points and spearheaded Sunnyside's press-break against the aggressive, full-court pressing Red Devils.

Sunnyside Christian's ability to control the tempo was absolutely critical against a Neah Bay team that wanted to run at every opportunity, the coach said.

"If we had played 32 minutes at their pace," Bosma said, "we would've gotten run out of the building."

That was evident when Neah Bay needed about three minutes late in the third quarter to turn Sunnyside Christian's comfortable 30-12 advantage into a 32-26 nail-biter as the game moved to the fourth quarter.

"As soon as we lost the pace of the game, we lost control," Bosma said of Neah Bay's run being sparked by its transition game.

"We just had to settle back down and play at our pace again," Broersma said.

Sunnyside Christian was able to do that and it never allowed Neah Bay to pull even, although the Red Devils closed within 38-36 on Leyton Doherty's 3-pointer with 2:08 to play.

That's when Broersma delivered at the offensive end, converting four straight free throws inside the final minute, with the first two coming in a clutch one-and-one situation, to push the advantage to a more comfortable six points with 34 seconds to play.

While those foul shots all but secured the victory, it was Broersma's earlier impact at the defensive end that allowed the Knights to dominate for 2 1/2 quarters, providing enough of a cushion to hold off Neah Bay, the team they beat for their last title, in 2011.

"He's always been our defensive anchor," Brouwer said. "He's always there defensively for us."

"Brandon's biggest impact is on the defensive end," Brian Bosma said. "We built our defense around him because when you can take away the other team's easy shots like he does, it gets pretty tough for them."

That was the case for Neah Bay, which wound up shooting 22 percent for the game (14 of 63), including a 4-for-23 effort (17 percent) in the first half as the Knights built a 22-10 lead.

"We never let go of rebounding and defense," said Broersma, whose 11 blocks broke the old mark of nine by Rosalia's Nathan Richards in a 2011 game against Columbia Adventist. "It's all about energy and wanting it."

And with this being his final prep game, Broersma said he had no trouble finding that motivation Saturday.

"This game was everything," he said of playing with Brouwer and Puterbaugh one final time and with so much riding on the outcome. "It's great to know we left everything out there and have no regrets."

Which may also be the best way to describe how these Knights became champions.

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN - Martin 1, D. Broersma 2, Alex Brouwer 13, Hoff 0, Bosma 7, Brian Broersma 12, Puterbaugh 4, Scheenstra 5. Totals 15-39 13-19 44.

NEAH BAY - Halttunen 0 Abraham Venske 10, J. Greene 9, Z. Greene 5, Doherty 3, Moss 5, McCaulley 2, Reamer 2. Totals 14-63 5-7 36,

Sunnyside Christian 11 11 10 12 - 44

Neah Bay 4 6 16 10 - 36

3-Point goals-Sunnyside Christian 1-4 (Bosma 1-1, Brouwer 0-1, B. Broersma 0-2), Neah Bay 3-15 (Doherty 1-2, Moss 1-4, Z. Greene 1-5, Reamer 0-1, McCaulley 0-3). Total fouls-Sunnysie Christian 7, Neah Bay 15. Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Sunnyside Christian 40 (B. Broersma 13, Brouwer 7), Neah Bay 29 (J. Greene 8). Assists-Sunnyside Christian 9 (Brouwer 4), Neah Bay 7 (Venske 5). Steals-Sunnyside Christian 1 (Brouwer), Neah Bay 8 (3 with 2). Blocked shots-Sunnyside Christian 12 (B. Broersma 11), Neah Bay 3 (3 with 1). Turnovers-Sunnyside Christian 18, Neah Bay 5.