Tourney MVP Baker leads Vikings to 70-67 win over Irvine Valley in MPC Classic championship

Ben Baker had 22 points to lead the Vikings past the Lasers
Ben Baker had 22 points to lead the Vikings past the Lasers
The West Valley basketball team claimed the championship of the Monterey Peninsula College Classic with a rousing 70-67 win over previously unbeaten Irvine Valley Saturday night in Monterey.
 
Tournament MVP Ben Baker had a game-high 22 points to lead the Vikings to their fourth-straight win and improve their season mark to 6-4. All-Tournament selection Adam Afifi had nine big first-half points on his way to 15 for the game.
 
Devon Banks drained a trey at 13:41 for a 16-14 lead the Vikings never relinquished. They led by as many as 13 in the second half before a Laser rally closed the score to 68-67 with 2:20 remaining.
 
Afifi, who picked up his fourth foul at 9:51, reentered the game and hit a key bucket with :34 to go off a perfect pass from Leland Estacio. IVC (8-1) called a timeout with 7.4 seconds left, but were unable to get off a shot before the buzzer.
 
West Valley reached Saturday's championship with a 72-65 win over Cypress in Thursday's opener and an 87-74 semifinal win over Solano. They have a few days to rest up before heading to Pleasanton to take on Diablo Valley (4-3) and Sacramento City (6-3) at the DVC Classic Dec.13-14.