San Francisco, Calif. – The West Valley College Men's Basketball team defeated #5 City College of San Francisco 77-65 Friday night, marking the first time in the program's illustrious and decorated history that the Vikings have gone undefeated in non-conference play. In addition to the incredible accomplishment, the Vikings played the hardest strength of schedule in the state (per state rankings NCRPI), winning 9 of its record 16 games against preseason top-25 teams. More impressively, five of those wins came against top-10 teams. 

The Vikings showed grit as they eventually rolled through their 16th straight victory, leading by as many as 22 points with about 5 minutes to play in the game. WVC remains the #1 ranked overall team in the state for the 8th week in a row and looks to start Coast Conference play this week. 

It was the sophomore trio of Jeremiah Dargan, Elijah Mahi, and Shakir Odunewu combining for a dominant 58 points to help lead the Vikings to victory. Dargan notched a tough overall double-double with 22 points and a whopping 14 rebounds, his season-high, to go with six assists, and a pair of steals. Mahi was equally impressive with 21 points and 5 rebounds of his own, to go along with three assists and a block. Mahi finished 9-for-14 from the field and went 3-for-3 from deep. Odunewu also snagged a double-double going 7-for-13 from the field and finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and a game-high 4 blocks. 

Sophomore Ariya Briscoe turned in a solid scoring night with 7 points on 3-of-6 shooting, with two of his shots coming in clutch to beat the buzzer for the Vikings. Aaron Ragen knocked down a pair of  triples for six points and pulled down two rebounds, to go along with an assist and a steal. Baron Bracey finished with  five points, four rebounds, two assists, and a game-high three steals. 

West Valley (16-0) had a relatively sluggish start to the night as they met the Rams in an anticipated matchup in the opening 20 minutes. The teams went blow-for-blow over the first period with no lead larger than nine points for the entirety of the half. The Vikings took a five-point lead into the locker room at 37-30. WVC started the second half off hot with four straight scores in the paint, and slowly built a double-digit lead that grew to as much as 22. 

The Vikings dominated the boards snagging 40 on the game and posted five blocks, their third most on the season. 

The Vikings return to action on Wednesday night (Jan. 10), and start Coast Conference South play on the road against cross-town rival, #12 San Jose City College. The conference has once again been named the best in the north this year via the state's Winning Percentage Index (WPI). The game is set for a 7pm tip-off.