SARATOGA -- West Valley men's basketball fought through multiple double-digit deficits to equalize in a top-ten matchup but couldn't get over the hump in a 65-62 loss to No. 7 Las Positas.

The Vikings (7-3) had been playing some of their best defensive basketball of the season, a theme that continued in this matchup against the Hawks (11-0).

Las Positas came in as the second-ranked offense in the state, averaging almost 94 points per game. The Hawks' season-low coming into the contest against West Valley was 78. They have four players averaging double-digit points per game.

And the Hawks got off to a strong start, leading 18-7 with just 12:25 to play. Leading scorer Jaden Woodard lived at the free throw line, with eight of his first ten points coming from the charity stripe. At that point in the game, Woodard's free throws outscored the Vikings' points as a whole.

But then the Vikings went on a run, dominating the next five minutes 16-5, capped off by two David Manea free throws, to equalize with 7:14 to play in the first half.

For West Valley, the biggest story of the first 20 minutes was the outside shooting of Caleb Asante. The sophomore forward who set West Valley's modern field goal percentage record while knocking down over 63% of his shots last season has been more of an interior threat. Though he started his season 2-of-4 from 3-point range, he hadn't even attempted one since early November.

But on the games' first possession, Asante caught a ball from the right wing and, in rhythm, knocked down his first 3. He hit another minutes later. In the second half, he hit his first try.

After coming into the game 2-of-4 from deep, he went 3-of-4 against a defense that allowed under 60 points per game coming into the contest.

It's now back-to-back games for the Vikings that Asante has been the offensive threat head coach Danny Yoshikawa envisioned coming into the season. After a tough couple of games to start December, Asante had a game-high 18 points while not missing a shot against Diablo Valley and neared his career-high with 21 points and seven boards against the Hawks.

With just 7:57 to play, Las Positas forward Ted Bigg-Wither hit a right-wing 3 over West Valley's Will Amoah. Similar to Asante, he had taken (and made) just one all season. But it felt like everything was going right for the Hawks, who had their lead balloon to 11.

Again though, the Vikings went on a run, this time a 10-2 run capped by a pair of Manea free throws, to bring it back within three. With 1:07 to play, West Valley played tremendous defense in the corner to trap Bigg-Wither. He got the ball out to Kodey Weary at the top of the key who quickly dumped it in to Isaiah Minor in the paint with seemingly a wide-open lane.

But Amoah, who has become the go-to defender and rebounder for the Vikings, came out of nowhere to stuff Minor's two-handed try at the rim and keep West Valley's momentum.

A pair of Cyrus Hassan free throws on the other end made it a one-point game. On the ensuing inbound, the Vikings trapped perfectly on the baseline and Manea got two hands on a steal but all of his momentum was leading him towards the baseline and Las Positas got an extra possession. Still a handful of fouls away from the bonus, Las Positas chewed valuable seconds off the clock and hit a couple of free throws to balloon the lead back to three. On the Vikings' final possession, CJ Willenborg's three-point heave fell short.

Overall, a strong showing for the Vikings. In their three games against top ten teams, they've lost by a total of 12 points, continuing to fight until the final buzzer in each. The nice thing for them is they'll get another chance soon, taking on No. 1 City College of San Francisco on December 18^th as the opener to the Tristan Hill Tournament.