West Valley College completed its perfect season by beating the College of the Sequoias 59-51 on Sunday afternoon in the California community college championship game, earning the first state title in school history.
The Vikings (33-0) led by one point with two minutes left, then went on a 9-2 run to seal the victory, making seven of eight free throws in addition to a jumper from sophomore wing Elijah Mahi.
Mahi poured in 30 points to lead West Valley, his third-highest output of the season and his 13th consecutive game in double figures.
West Valley trailed 28-27 at halftime before freshman center Shakir Odunewu’s dunk out of the break led them on a 10-0 run. Odunewu had a double-double in the second half alone with 11 points (7-of-11 free throws) and 10 rebounds (five offensive) in the final 20 minutes of the game.
After taking a 37-28 lead on the post-halftime run, the Vikings scored just one point over the next eight minutes. Sequoia eventually took a four-point advantage on a Jose Cuello 3-pointer with just over seven minutes left.
Guard Jeremiah Dargan (Clayton Valley, Concord) broke West Valley out of its funk with a 3 and a layup on consecutive possessions to tie the game.
Mahi kept the Vikings in the game early, scoring 17 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting. No other West Valley player had more than two points at halftime.
Related Articles
Saint Mary’s men set for NCAA Tournament as No. 5 seed, to face Grand Canyon in Spokane
ASU basketball: Hurley’s future, Crow’s master plan, the unsigned contract and the historical standard for success
Selection Sunday preview: Breaking down Pac-12 bids and seeds, the projected No. 1s and a western roundup
Stanford basketball: Coaching search begins with pressure on AD Bernard Muir to get it right
Mailbag: Sorry state of MBB in CA, ‘Pac-2’ options and Big 10 revenue
Sequoias was led in scoring by Cuello, who went 5-of-8 on 3-pointers and recorded 27 points.
The Vikings made only three 3-pointers on 13 attempts, but they thrived near the basket, outscoring the Giants 24-8 in paint points and going 20-of-24 on free throws, while Sequoias was 5-of-8.
West Valley beat Cerro Coso on Friday in the Elite Eight, then took down Yuba in the semifinal to reach the sixth title game in school history. From there, Mahi led the way to the state crown on Sunday.