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Lance Den Boer takes a shot Monday in the Tourney- town.com Shootout in the Yakima Valley SunDome. JON BRUNK photo

By ROGER UNDERWOOD YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC The first priority for Sunnyside Christian's Knights, records and celebrations to the contrary, was winning the game. "This was big," coach Dean Wagenaar said once his team had strengthened its league lead with a 52-32 conquest of Riverside Christian on Monday in the Tourneytown.com Shootout in the SunDome. "It was a very, very big game. "At this point we were only up two games on La Salle, and if we win our division we don't have to leave Sunnyside in the district tournament (to be played at Sunnyside High School), plus we're assured of getting to regionals. That's very important."

To be sure.

And the Knights diligently took care of their Greater Columbia B League business, riding Lance Den Boer's record-breaking 33 points to an emphatic victory.

While the 6-foot-6 senior standout set a state career scoring mark with his 12th point at the 4:33 mark of the second quarter, Sunnyside Christian weathered the Crusaders' deliberate, grind-it-out style and was not challenged as it had been in a Jan. 10 meeting in Sunnyside, won 46-37 by the Knights.

Den Boer's historic hoop, a 16-foot jumper, vaulted him past Curlew's Jeremy Groth, who concluded a 2,447-point career in 2000. The game was stopped and Ron Deaton, former Naches High great and current Rangers' coach who was the Valley's scoring leader before the SSC ace passed him, presented Den Boer with the ball.

The win improved Sunnyside Christian to 8-0 in the GCB's Yakima Valley Division and 12-2 overall. Riverside slipped to 4-3 and 8-5.

Den Boer, of course, was the player of the hour, making history and dominating play in the inaugural Shootout on Martin Luther King day.

He scored all 22 first-half points for the Knights -- that's right, all 22 -- hitting 8 of 10 field goals and all four of his free throws as SSC led by 13.

Den Boer had more points at the break, in fact, than Riverside Christian had shots (19), as the Knights' 2-3 zone defense limited the Crusaders to 21 percent field goal shooting.

"We played man-to-man (in their earlier meeting with RC)," Wagenaar said, "and they got some back-door baskets on us. Today we wanted to make sure we valued every possession and played well even though that isn't the style we prefer.

"The second quarter, when we held them to five points, was very good. And the third was even better."

It's true that the Knights allowed only one third-quarter field goal, by Matt Horsley with 1:56 left, and by period's end led 43-11.

Coach Bruce Seibol's Crusaders picked it up considerably thereafter, but by then the issue had long been decided. Den Boer left with 3:37 to play and his team leading 50-22.

The only scorer to hit double figures, Den Boer nailed 12 of 19 field goals, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He also had a game-high six rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and an assist.

Dustin Bounds scored six second-half points for Sunnyside Christian, the defending Class B state champion and top-ranked team in its classification this season.

Reserve Matt Vye scored seven points for Riverside Christian, which was without starter Josh Horsley due to injury.

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:: GAME STATS

   Sunnyside Christian 52, Riverside Christian 32