SARATOGA -- An early season gauntlet continued for West Valley men's basketball as it took on one of the top scoring teams in the state in Diablo Valley but shut it down on the defensive end and played a strong second half on the offensive end to match a season-long three-game win streak.

Coming off the heels of a dominant win at Napa Valley, the West Valley Vikings (7-2) struggled in the first half and fell behind with just over 16 minutes to play but ended up taking down their Viking-counterpart in Diablo Valley (5-6), 79-59.

"I thought in general we played hard," said head coach Danny Yoshikawa. "I thought we wore them out with our offensive rebounding. I was really happy with their effort with the offensive rebounding. We turned the ball over too much, and it kind of hurt us, especially in the first half. I think we took care of it better in the second, but I thought the turnovers really hurt us. With that being said, they're an extremely hard team to play. They shoot the 3, 45% of their shots are 3's."

Diablo Valley came into the game 15^th in the state in scoring, but West Valley played it tough on the defensive end. Early on, West Valley had Diablo Valley's leading scorer, Brandon Earl, on lockdown. With just two minutes left in the game, he was stuck on three points before scoring 11 in garbage time.

Diablo Valley's top three scorers -- Earl, Mozell Wilson and Dylan Devinney -- combined to shoot just 12-37 (32.4%) from the field.

"We have the ability to be a really good defensive team," said Yoshikawa. "We're getting better. We had to guard them one-on-one, and at times, we got exposed. But I think, for the most part, we did a really good job."

The big difference early on was the rebounding. Forward Will Amoah was all over the offensive boards, cleaning up seven as part of a 16-rebound night. Diablo Valley, which came into the game as one of the top rebounding teams in its conference, finished with just 22 boards overall.

"He was unbelievable," Yoshikawa said of Amoah. "It was impressive. He just gets better and better every week. There were times offensively that I thought he was too fast, or too frantic, but other than that, I can't fault him for his effort. That's incredible. He definitely was up there, with his offensive rebounds and his overall rebounding. He's just around the ball."

Yoshikawa called Amoah, the transfer from Shasta College up north, arguably the most talented player on the team coming into the season. He's had his struggles, scoring six combined points on 2-12 shooting against San Diego City and San Francisco, but is now establishing himself as he's finding his footing.

Over his last three games, Amoah is averaging 12.67 points per game with 11.33 rebounds, all while shooting 60% from the field.

West Valley was nearly on upset alert late in the game. After a solid start to the second half, Diablo Valley controlled a one-point lead, taking a 38-37 advantage, when West Valley's leading scorer Caleb Asante delivered.

He went into takeover mode, scoring in bunches, finishing tough transition layups and drawing fouls to slow the game down. Asante was coming off a quiet stretch of his own but dominated overall, finishing a perfect 7-of-7 from the field for his game-high 18 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. His transition, and-one layup was the big spark in a 16-0 West Valley run that turned a one-point deficit into a West Valley blowout.

"He came out right from the get-go," said Yoshikawa, "and you knew who he was. That's who he's got to be. He was kind of mean, and tough and nasty, and when he's like that, he's really hard to guard."

West Valley has favored hockey-style line changes this season to traditional rotations. The starting five seems to be set with Asante, Amoah, sophomore Ryan Roth and the freshman guard duo of Cyrus Hassan and Isaiah Ackerman. The second unit, with CJ Willenborg, Aaron Biebel Antonio Kellogg Jr., Bryce Buchanan and David Manea has been solid as well.

But late in the second half, Yoshikawa sent out a new look on the floor. He called it West Valley's "big lineup" playing the 6-foot-8 Amoah and 6-foot-5 Asante with the 6-foot-7 Manea and a 6-foot-4 Ackerman who plays with more length than his height might entail. The five, though they played together sparingly, played well together and will be an intriguing combination going forward.

"If we're not making shots, we might as well get big," said Yoshikawa. "All those guys are so skilled, I don't think that matters. I wanted to take a look at that, see what it looks like. Honestly, I wish I could have played it more, just to get a better look at it."

The big lineup could be huge as soon as Friday when West Valley takes on No. 7 Las Positas. The Hawks have five players 6-foot-6 and above, two of whom play at least 20 minutes a game. The X-factor might be Manea. The UC Riverside-transfer posted a 12-point, eight-rebound game off the bench, snagging a season-high five boards.

"He's Mr. Consistency," said Yoshikawa, which fittingly, he's said every time he's been asked about Manea. "You always know what you're going to get from him. He didn't play perfectly tonight, but he's so tough and he makes the right play. He just knows how to play basketball."

Though it dropped the first two top five matchups of the season to No. 1 San Francisco and No. 2 Fullerton (by a combined nine points), West Valley has a big opportunity playing at home for the first time this season against a top five team. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM on Friday at Bob Burton Court.