SARATOGA -- Down three of its most impactful players and just a game removed from one of the toughest losses of the season, No. 10 West Valley basketball had one of its most impressive victories of the year, taking down No. 22 Foothill, 84-68.

The Vikings (12-4, 1-0 Coast-South) opened the conference slate with a victory for the tenth straight season, stopping a red-hot Owl (12-5, 0-1 Coast-South) offense that averages almost 80 points a game.

"Really proud of that group," said head coach Danny Yoshikawa. "With Aaron [Biebel] and Caleb [Asante], we lose our two toughest guys. We lose our two best defenders, and we lose a lot of our intelligence. Their IQ for the game is really high. So, for everyone else to step up and beat a good team like that, it's a good win for the Vikings.

West Valley guard CJ Willenborg started his night with a big 3, nailing one from the top of the key just a minute in to help the Vikings jump out to a 5-0 lead. It was a huge sign of things to come for the sophomore guard who finished with a career-high 28 points to cement his return to dominance in the conference.

Willenborg battled -- and played through -- injuries early in the season but is certainly finding his scoring rhythm of late. He's hit three or more 3's in half of his last eight games and knocked down six in the win over Foothill, the most he's hit in a game over his two seasons. But neither Willenborg or Yoshikawa are surprised about the groove Willenborg has gotten into.

"Just getting back to how I believe I should be playing," said Willenborg, "I've had a couple games where I've felt good, just getting back to 100%."

Already without leading-scorer Asante and with sophomore forward Bryce Buchanan unavailable, the Vikings got into defensive trouble early on with sophomore forward William Amoah and freshman forward David Manea picking up multiple fouls in the games' first five minutes. One of Foothill's top strengths as a team is its height, with 6-foot-9 forward Gavin Cox and 6-foot-7 forward Will Ambidge leading the charge. Both forwards average over 8.5 rebounds per game.

But using their next-man-up mentality, the Vikings tenacious defense and physical rebounding completely stalled Foothill offensively. Instead of using their lack of size as a deterrent, the Vikings forced Foothill to change its scheme. When West Valley had five guards on the floor, Foothill often had to match just in an attempt to keep up.

"We went to five guards," said Yoshikawa. "Basti [Williams is] a guard, and he can guard 1-through-5. Ryan [Roth] competed hard, Ryan was really tough. Antonio [Kellogg Jr.] was good, Cyrus [Hassan] was good. Our five, six guards were good. [Isaiah Ackerman] was incredible. It was the guards."

Hassan and Ackerman, the two freshman guards who opened West Valley's season in the starting five, have each had some freshman lulls in their season. But Ackerman has been a force on the defensive end and picked up three blocks -- all on jump shots -- against Foothill as West Valley's premier interior presence in the smaller lineup. And Hassan, who came in to the Foothill game 0 for his last 13 from beyond the arc, knocked down a pair and set a career-high with 13 points.

"All freshmen go through these lulls," said Yoshikawa, "and he was definitely going through his. He just had to keep working. And the guy is in the gym, every single day, including Sundays. He's working on his shot, and guys like that, I always know they're going to be fine. It isn't just like 'I come to play, and today I played good,' he's actually been working and he has come incredible self-belief."

In that small lineup, the Vikings used Willenborg in the high post to either go to work scoring or facilitate to the perimeter. He and Williams, who has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games, were in sync throughout the night. Williams is picking up more of a scoring load, but also shouldering some bigger responsibility as a defender and rebounder as a 6-foot-3, but strong-bodied, guard.

"The high-level coaches, they say 'plug-and-play'," said Yoshikawa, "and that's what Basti is. Plug him wherever you need him, and he can play. And that's why he's so valuable."

"He's a good player," said Willenborg. "He's been ready, he's been waiting for his opportunity, and when he got that opportunity, he's been ready to play. It's been fun to watch. I haven't seen him play that much in game with how everything's gone, but he's stepped up, and he's been playing well."

Yoshikawa also applauded Willenborg's ability to do a little bit of everything on the floor, and his versatility playing a new role when needed for the Vikings.

"CJ can get it going," said Yoshikawa. "He's really skilled, and he's a really good shooter. We saw this in that game against San Francisco. When he gets it going, he's hard to guard. But what I like about him is, he's playing defense and he's passing the ball, and if I can get him to continue to do that -- because he might be the best passer in the conference. He probably is the best passer, in terms of just sheer talent. If I can get him to keep passing the ball, he's going to be better, we're going to be better, and we're going to win more games."

Willenborg, for what it's worth, thrived while playing center, a position he can't recall the last time he played.

"Honestly, I couldn't even really remember [when I last played center]," said Willenborg. "But we were running some ball screens for me. In today's game, it's kind of normal for guards to set screens, but it was pretty funny because [Yoshikawa] was giving me post ups, but it was working pretty well. I can post up a little bit, got a little bag down there."

He was in his bag all night, but so were the Vikings as a team. Four Vikings reached double figures in the takedown of a top-25 team in arguably their second-best win of the season after taking down No. 1 San Francisco.

The road for the Vikings doesn't get easier from here, as they travel to San Jose to take on No. 19 San Jose City on Friday night.