STOCKTON -- It might have just been the right time for West Valley men's basketball to pick up its first signature victory of the 2025-26 season.

With such a young team and a frontloaded schedule, the No. 6 Vikings (8-3) slipped from their 4^th-ranked spot in the preseason after falling to three of the top five teams in the state. They opened the Tristan Hill Holiday Tournament on the campus of San Joaquin Delta College with a familiar face, No. 1 City College of San Francisco. The Rams (11-1) had outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points per game and, as the reigning state champions, hadn't lost a game in almost an entire calendar year.

"[Any time] you beat the number one team in the state," said head coach Danny Yoshikawa, "it's a big deal. We knew we should've won the game in San Francisco a few weeks back. I was happy for our players that we could get this done tonight."

The Vikings lost by three the last time the two teams played, with sophomore forward Caleb Asante's potential tying free throw falling short with under 20 seconds to play and San Francisco answering on the other end. Still, this was a team the Vikings felt they could beat. They had lost their three games by 12 total points. And beat them is exactly what the Vikings did, taking down CCSF, 64-56.

"It was an incredible team effort," said Yoshikawa, "with everyone contributing in their own way. Overall, we didn't play great, we didn't shoot it great. But just an incredible win. I don't know if I've ever been prouder of a team."

San Francisco got out to a quick start on both sides of the ball, scoring six of the games' first eight points within two minutes. Yoshikawa quickly drew his starting five off the court, electing to bring in an entirely new unit to try and bring a spark.

It might not have been the most conventional move to replace the entire starting line less than two minutes into the game, but Yoshikawa felt he didn't coach the game to its fullest extent in the loss against No. 5 Las Positas. There are risks that have to be taken when you upset the No. 1 team in the state, and those risks paid off as the Vikings downed the Rams.

Freshman guard Antonio Kellogg Jr. brought a much-needed push when inserted into the game, attacking the rim and finishing the first half with five points, three rebounds, two assists and strong decision-making.

"He's getting better defensively," said Yoshikawa, "and that's the only thing that's really stopping me from playing him 40 minutes, he's just such a good player. He kind of brought us back, he kept us in it. I thought he was attacking and made a nice pass. He's just getting better and better, that dude is good."

Overall, it was a very balanced first half scoring effort. Sophomore forward William Amoah led the way with eight points, but Aaron Biebel hit two huge 3's, Cyrus Hassan had a strong in-and-out game and Kellogg contributed when necessary.

But the biggest story of the first half started with 8:49 to go when Ram guard Elliot Conley heaved a three-pointer over his defender from the corner to push San Francisco's lead to 23-18. What followed was eight minutes and two second of near-perfect defense as the Rams went scoreless while West Valley racked up nine straight points.

"[We just followed] our scouting," said Asante, "followed our assignments.  That was a big thing coming in: [taking out what they do best and making them do something different]. I feel like buying into that scouting just let us be the best version of ourselves."

The scrappy play continued through the second half until the Vikings ballooned their lead in the middle of the period. Sophomore guard CJ Willenborg, in just his second game returning from injury, absolutely took over.

It admittedly hasn't been a perfect start to the season for the second-year guard who averaged double-figures while shooting 36% from 3 last season. He's battled injuries and a newer role on this team, handling the ball and being tasked with defending more top-level talent than last season, but it always feels like he's on the edge of a breakthrough.

Off the bench against San Francisco, Willenborg scored a game-high 15 points while hitting three 3's, all off the dribble. His first was an and-1 heave from the left wing that he got to fall before he drilled a couple more tough ones from nearly the same spot late in the period.

"CJ is a very talented player, and he's not afraid of the moment," said Yoshikawa. "It was just a matter of time until he had one of these games. I've been around him for a year and a half, and I'm really proud of him. It's hard to get hurt. Twist his ankle, he [has to] sit out for a couple of weeks. Then [he twists] his ankle again. Those are hard things to go through. I was really pleased because I think he also made good passes. He didn't over-penetrate too much. He just played the right way."

West Valley also unlocked Caleb Asante in the second half. After he scored an efficient 13 points the first time the two teams played and dominated No. 5 Las Positas with a 21-point outing, the Rams' defense keyed in on him through the first half. But he scored the Vikings' first two baskets in the second half and, poetically, iced the game with free throws at the end. He's now scored in double-figures in three straight games.

"There was no question in my mind that he wanted to be the guy there, and that he wanted redemption," said Yoshikawa. "And he got it. And he looked confident. That's a hard thing to do. He felt so bad the first time. And then he stepped up with confidence and made free throws like a winner."

"It comes down to work," said Asante. "After those missed free throws, I was just in the gym, just getting reps up, [continuing to] shoot free throws. I felt like for me, it was like a get back. I was able to make these free throws and forget about what happened in the past. That was a big moment for me."

Overall, the Vikings impressed with their scrappiness. Freshman guard Cyrus Hassan looked well beyond his years while drawing an offensive foul and playing passing lanes in the first half while sophomore forward Bryce Buchanan had a pair of putback layups. As a team, West Valley outrebounded San Francisco 39-29 and had 14 offensive rebounds.

"After Friday night's loss -- we know we didn't play well," Yoshikawa said, "I don't feel like I managed the game right. Everybody in the locker room was very down. To me, these are the type of games, in my experience, that turn the season around. Because now we know we can do it. And we're still doing it missing some shots. It's not like we're shooting the lights out yet. It's just going to get better and better. But until it does, we're not making excuses for not making shots. We're just hanging our hats on defense and rebounding. And that's what won us the game, is our philosophy and our belief in ourselves, that 'hey, you shoot it, don't worry about missing it, we're going to go get it,' and everybody has each other's back."

Defensively, West Valley held top-ranked San Francisco, which came into the game averaging over 80 points per game, to just 56 points -- its lowest in any contest since it scored 57 in a game against West Valley two seasons ago. Since 2012-13, when the 3C2A started consistently tracking game-by-game scores, the Rams have been held under 60 points just four times in their 393 games -- approximately once every 100 games. Yoshikawa's Vikings have done it three times the last six times the rivals have played.

Now, the Vikings have less than 24 hours before a rematch with Amoah's old squad, as they prepare to take on Shasta College in the second game of the Tristan Hill Holiday Tournament with tipoff set for 1:00 PM.