After 20 minutes of less-than-inspiring basketball against a talented College of San Mateo squad, the West Valley men's basketball team somehow took a 48-47 lead into the locker room. After the teams returned - 4:28 to be exact - the Vikings were up 69-48 and the game was essentially over. The 21-1 run highlighted a 95-72 win for the Vikings in an early-season battle of unbeatens Saturday afternoon in Saratoga.

The opening half saw West Valley (7-0) turn the ball over more than usual against the Bulldogs (6-1), who substituted and pressed relentlessly. Quinn Denker almost singlehandedly kept the Vikings afloat with 22 first-half points. Jacquez Walker had 10, including a pair of three-pointers, at the break, to help WVC outshoot CSM 8-3 from distance in the opening stanza.

The Viking run that opened the second half was keyed by one of the top defensive efforts of the young season. Denker's and-one ignited the run after a steal and breakaway. He would tally five more in the run, while Adam Afifi and Mahmoud Fofana each had four points. Leland Estacio's trey at 15:32 closed out the surge. The Vikings stayed hot on offense and stingy on defense the rest of the way, outscoring the Bulldogs 26-12 in the final nine minutes.

Denker had a season-high 34 points, while Afifi canned 15 in the second half to finish with 19. Walker had 13, including three of WVC's 12 three-pointers. Kori McCoy led the Bulldogs with 14, while leading scorer Sam Manu had 13.

The state #2-ranked Vikings now head to San Diego for the Grossmont College Classic Dec. 2-4.