In the end, the little engine that could ran into the well-oiled machine that did — and did year long, from day one to the season’s final moment of the season.

When the final buzzer rang and Aaron Van de Graaf launched the basketball into the SunDome sky with a whoop of pure exultation, it capped a season of workmanlike perfection. Twenty-six times this season the Sunnyside Christian Knights have gone out for the opening tip wearing the mantle of the No. 1 ranking, the team to beat, the target on everybody’s radar screen.

And yet, with all of that extra weight to bear, 26 times the result has been the same. Tulalip Heritage, the overachieving first-timers who had charmed SunDome audiences with their free-wheeling, sharpshooting game, was simply the final obstacle, and the Knights’ 58-40 Class 1B championship-game victory was another portrait of efficient offense and determined defense.

With an emphasis on the latter.

“We had to play our hearts out on defense. They’re great shooters,” Knights center Cole Van de Graaf said of the Hawks, who had hit 27 3-pointers over the first three days. “You gotta be in their face at all times — can’t let up for a second.

“Defense wins championships.”

That sentiment notwithstanding, Van de Graaf captured the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honors largely because of his work on the offensive end over the final two days. After only joining SC’s basketball program last year as a junior, Van de Graaf sank all nine of his field-goal attempts on Saturday, on the heels of his 7-for-8 performance in the Knights’ difficult victory in the semifinals.

“Last year, he was a bull in a china shop,” Knights coach Dean Wagenaar said of the 6-foot-4 senior. “He could go to the hoop, but he’d take four guys out on the way. He’s made some progress, I’d say.”

On Saturday, Van de Graaf had plenty of help. Junior guard Joel Koopmans played a near-perfect game, racking up 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists without so much as a single turnover. Senior guard Aaron Van de Graaf had 12 points and four assists, Lucas Brouwer hit a couple of 3-pointers and the rest of the Knights did yoeman work in helping shut down Tulalip sharpshooters Lesjar McKinney, Antonio Johnson and Toby Miller.

“Our defense had to step it up another notch against these guys,” Aaron Van de Graaf said. “Those guys are great shooters.”

Not on Saturday, though. Miller, who had hit four 3-pointers in the Hawks’ semifinal win, scored just three points on Saturday before fouling out with six minutes remaining. McKinney and Johnson scored 16 and 9, respectively, but never seemed to be in the rhythm they had enjoyed over the first three days of the tournament.

“You get a little deterred — by their muscle, their speed, their height — and it’s hard to overcome all that. They’re very athletic,” Tulalip Heritage coach Leon Enick said of the Knights.

Still, Tulalip (23-4) trailed only 26-22 in the final two minutes of the first half before the Knights scored six unanswered points before halftime. When Cole Van de Graaf scored back-to-back baskets to open the third quarter, the latter on a nifty assist pass from Koopmans, Sunnyside Christian had a 36-22 lead — and its machine-like precision was in full flower.

“All the screens just opened everything up,” Cole Van de Graaf said. “It makes everything work like a well-oiled machine. And when we’re hitting those 3’s” — the Knights were 7-for-19 from beyond the arc — “it’s like a smooth-running engine.”

Wagenaar lauded the play of his players and also the work of his assistant coaches, Henry Bosma and Brian Bosma. “When you see the good fundamental basketball,” Wagenaar said, “it doesn’t just drop out of the sky. It’s drilled. It’s taught.”

Both teams did a remarkable job of protecting the ball from a very good defense accustomed to getting steals; Sunnyside Christian committed only seven turnovers, while the Hawks had just eight.

The Knights were very complimentary of the Tulalip Heritage players, who gave up probably three inches per man and yet stayed within striking distance for nearly three quarters.

“They’re a great team,” Aaron Van de Graaf. “They deserved to be in this game.”

And although the Hawks may have surprised people by being in the title game this season, it would come as no surprise a year from now.

“We’re losing two guys. They’re losing seven. We’ll be back next year,” Enick said. “It’s been a fun year. I had three returning kids when we started the year. Who would have dreamed this at the beginning of the year?”

No, at the beginning of the year, all the talk and expectations were about Sunnyside Christian, making the Knights’ the hardest kind of title run of all: the one you’re SUPPOSED to win.

And the Knights pulled it off, shrugging off the weight of all those expectations. Maybe that’s why Aaron Van de Graaf sent the basketball so high into the rafters at the final buzzer.

“I was trying to get it out of the Dome,” he grinned.

No. The other thing the Knights are taking from the SunDome this year is a very, very large trophy.

Tulalip Heritage -- Ike 0-0 0-0 0, McKinney 6-14 3-3 16, Jones 1-2 0-0 2, Wooster 1-1 0-0 3, Monsegur 3-6 0-0 7, Miller 0-3 3-4 3, Wasko 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 4-10 1-2 9, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Hatch 0-0 0-0 0, Reedy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-38 7-9 40.
Sunnyside Christian -- Koopmans 5-8 3-4 15, Van Oostrom 0-0 0-0 0, C. Van de Graaf 9-9 2-6 20, Van Boven 0-0 0-0 0, J. Brouwer 1-3 0-0 3, M. De Jong 0-0 0-0 0, L. Brouwer 2-4 0-0 6, A. Van de Graaf 4-11 2-2 12, De Vries 1-1 0-0 2, Meininger 0-1 0-0 0, N. De Jong 0-0 0-0 0, Freepons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-37 7-12 58.
Tulalip Heritage	11	11	9	9	--	40
Sunnyside Christian	11	21	12	14	--	58
3-point goals--TH 3-13 (Monsegur 1-1, Wooster 1-1, McKinney 1-6, Miller 0-2, Johnson 0-3), SC 7-19 (L. Brouwer 2-4, Koopmans 2-4, A. Van de Graaf 2-8, J. Brouwer 1-3). Rebounds--TH 16 (Johnson 4), SC 28 (Koopmans 10, C. Van de Graaf 7). Assists--TH 5 (Johnson 3), SC 15 (Koopmans 4, A. Van de Graaf 4). Steals--TH 1, SC 1. Blocked shots--TH 2, SC 3 (C. Van de Graaf 2). Fouled out--Miller. Total fouls--TH 16, SC 11. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--TH 8, SC 7.