Steven Broersma nearly took it the distance, but Sunnyside Christian's boys also needed a closer Wednesday night.

Thank you, Steven Bosma.

Sunnyside Christian's Steven Broersma goes up for a shot against Pateros' Abram Wilson, left, and Nate Taylor, right, on Wednesday in the SunDome.   SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic   View all photos for this story.

With Broersma scoring 21 of his 24 points through three quarters and Bosma triggering a big finish to save the day, the third-ranked Knights survived a first-round scare with a 46-37 victory over Pateros in the Class 1B state tournament in the SunDome.

Enjoying a double-digit lead in the first half and unleashing its trademark defense, Sunnyside Christian seemed on cruise control while riding the long limbs of the 6-foot-6 Broersma, who hit last-second shots at the end of the first and third quarters.

But while running most of their offense through the big kid, the Knights perhaps didn't realize how vulnerable they were until the scoreboard said so. And with two minutes left in the game, there it was — Pateros 37-36.

Which turned out to be Bosma's cue.

With just one free throw to his credit in three previous quarters, Bosma came to life with two fastbreak baskets, four free throws and two steals in the final 1:45 as the Knights finished the game with a 10-0 run.

"That's how we should play the whole game, not just at the end," said Bosma, a junior guard. "There were parts of our offense we were struggling with, and we had to keep trying to figure it out."

After Nate Taylor's 10-footer with 2:34 left gave Pateros its first lead since the opening minutes at 37-36, Bosma was involved in three consecutive keys plays that launched the closing run.

First he converted a long outlet pass from Kevin De Jong into a breakaway lay-up to get the lead back. After coming up with one of his four steals, Bosma then sank two free throws to end an 0-for-5 skid at the foul line for the Knights.

"Hey, Pateros is a good team and we knew that. They're 19-4 and they won their league," said SC coach Dean Wagenaar. "We expected a physical, grind-it-out game and that's what it was. We used one word to describe this game -- advance."

Much of the credit for that belongs to Broersma, who made 11 of 15 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and made his first 3-pointer of the season. When he made his 11th basket with 6:20 left in the game, he accounted for 24 of his team's 32 points.

"I was just finding some shots and doing my best," he said. "There were times though when we had trouble shooting. Good teams find a way, and we pulled it together at the end."

With their 15th straight win, the Knights (20-3) move into a 9 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday against Almira/Coulee-Hartline (17-8), which upset fifth-ranked Neah Bay in Wednesday's nightcap.

Pateros (19-5), which rallied from a 20-9 deficit midway through the second period, plays Neah Bay (18-6) in a loser-out game at 2 p.m.