SARATOGA -- West Valley men's basketball had arguably its most complete performance off the season in a thrashing of the College of Marin, winning 109-80 to hop back on track.

The Vikings (5-2) set their season-high in points, doing so while hitting 17 3's, good for the fourth-most in recorded program history. While their Bay Valley Conference opponent, the College of Marin Mariners (5-2), weren't as tough a task as No. 1 San Francisco or No. 2 Fullerton earlier this year, they were still winners of five straight coming into the game.

"We played well, I was proud of our guys," said head coach Danny Yoshikawa. "It's hard to bounce back after that heartbreaking loss. And not only did we play hard, but we played well."

West Valley's seven recorded games against the Mariners have been mostly dominant. Three times have the Vikings crossed the 100-point mark, and twice, College of Marin forfeited. And while the former is true, this effort from the Mariners was anything but a forfeit.

A two-headed monster of Mariner forwards John Kingston Carmona and Olivier Borgol matched each of the Vikings moves, each reaching double figures early in the first half.

On West Valley's side, the true freshman duo of Cyrus Hassan and Isaiah Ackerman started up top with sophomore Ryan Roth as sophomore Caleb Asante and transfer William Amoah played down low.

Asante is now the only Viking to have started each of the seven games played. The Vikings have continued to pride themselves on being a deep roster with a true ten-man rotation, a luxury at this level.

Hassan was the leader early, dropping in three 3's as he continued to get open looks off the ball. He even created for himself once, isolating deep near the top of the key and dropping one in from near-NBA range.

But the big story of the first half, at least offensively, was Ryan Roth. Mostly a bench piece last season, Roth's exposure has grown and he's made himself a fixture near the top of the rotation. Yoshikawa applauded Roth before the season for his work ethic. But it's one thing to be a monster in practice and another to play the same in game, which Roth has. He's now up to a team-high 13 3's this season while leading the qualifiers in percentage.

"What you give is what you get," said Yoshikawa, "and he's worked harder than anybody out there. I love Ryan, he's become a good defender, he's tough, he's a pass-handle-shoot guy, and he's effective with what he does. He's just a good player."

The descriptions Yoshikawa gave are similar to those that could be given about reigning Coast-South Defender of the Year Aaron Biebel. But after shooting a strong 30-percent from downtown last season, Biebel had started his 2025-26 missing his first 17. Against Marin, he matched Roth, dropping in four of his own.

On his first, a clear weight dropped from Biebel's shoulders, allowing him to play looser. But the more obvious shift was on the bench. It was a rare moment where, even early in a game, the entire bench stood and cheered on their teammate.

"It just shows you how special this team is," said Yoshikawa. "That reaction -- they know how hard it is, for a guy that can shoot it so well, to not make a shot for that long -- it shows you how special the guys are. That's why we could be really good."

West Valley blew past its previous season-high of 83 points, also hitting 17 3's, good for fourth in recorded history. It felt like everyone who took one made one, with CJ Willenborg, Ackerman and Jayden Minor hitting from deep as well.

But the Vikings still dominated the interior. Amoah had arguably his most complete game as a Viking, finishing nearing a double-double with 15 points. Off the bench, Bryce Buchanan's length made a huge impact against a small Marin squad. And David Manea, who finds himself in the lead-scoring role off the bench, finished in double figures for the fifth time this season.

"I get the same effort, the same attitude, the same toughness, and the same production out of David every single day," said Yoshikawa. "And as a coach, that's the dream. You can count on guys. And we're starting to get to a point where we can count on everybody's effort to be pretty consistent. Some performances are up and down, but David's have been steady."

With the game out of hand, Yoshikawa got some big minutes from Minor, Basti Williams and Oussama Chacha, all who bring different skillsets to the table but haven't been able to crack West Valley's rotation.

Minor hit the teams' final 3, Williams impressed with his length on defense and his court vision and Chacha knocked in his first points of the season on a technical free throw.

"I was really happy with that last group," said Yoshikawa. "Oussama was playing good, Jayden was playing good and Basti was playing good. It's good to see guys that don't get the opportunity, but that I know are good players. They just don't get the opportunities that other guys get, and it's good to see them play right and play well. That's the cherry on top of the sundae, to watch those guys who don't get the chance to play a lot, to make great plays."

Following the heartbreaking, three-point loss to CCSF, this was a good get-right game for the Vikings before a Thanksgiving break and a road trip to Napa Valley to take on the Storm on December 5^th.