SARATOGA -- West Valley men's basketball entered the 2026 3C2A State Tournament with a well-deserved break, earning a bye in the first round of the tournament. It paid dividends in an almost identical victory to one the Vikings had earlier in the season against the College of San Mateo, as the Vikings led from the tip and never looked back to reach the NorCal Regional Final for the fifth straight season.

West Valley (23-6, 10-2 Coast-South) had a terrific end to the season, seeming to hit their best form with the return of forward Caleb Asante and guard Aaron Biebel. The Vikings went 4-3 over their first seven games of January before turning a corner, now winners of nine straight games. On the other hand, San Mateo's schedule seemed to mirror the Vikings: the Bulldogs (18-12) opened their season 14-3 before going 4-9 down the stretch. They did, however, upset Contra Costa College in the opening round, and on paper brought a formidable test to the Vikings after a week off. But West Valley was up for the challenge, jumping out to a 29-4 lead before eventually taking down the Bulldogs, 70-37.

The Vikings got off to a perfect start, scoring the games' first 12 points, mostly due to Ryan Roth. The sophomore guard continues to be one of the states' best, and most efficient, three-point shooters, knocking down a 3 from about five feet deep of the top of the key to start the scoring then one a couple trips down the floor from even deeper on the wing with a hand in his face. 

Roth, who averaged just 2.0 points per game last season as one of the last guys off West Valley's bench, is nearing a double-figure average on the year. More importantly, on a streaky three-point shooting team, Roth has been a beacon of consistency, especially over the last handful of weeks. After he missed all three of his 3's in a win against Foothill on January 7, his three-point percentage dropped to 34.3%. Since then, Roth has drilled 35-of-69 tries, good for 50.7%, in that stretch, while raising his season percentage over eight points.

His shooting gave the Vikings some early cushion as they moved to the high-low game between forwards Asante and William Amoah. Another big piece of the Vikings' success was that of Amoah, who neared a double-double but blocked three shots. Off the bench, Bryce Buchanan matched by swatting three of his own. West Valley took advantage of its size advantage, using the length of the 6-foot-8 Amoah and the 6-foot-9 Buchanan to dominate the interior against a San Mateo team whose tallest forward stood at just 6-foot-5.

Sophomore guard CJ Willenborg, named to the all-conference first team, dropped 15 points to lead the Vikings. At times in the second half of the season, he was West Valley's top volume shooter, but he beat the Bulldogs by attacking the rim while using his speed on the perimeter to get by defenders. 

West Valley gets to continue its home playoff run this Saturday, as the Vikings take on sixth-seeded Butte College coming off a win of its own against the College of the Sequoias. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30.