West Valley Becomes Fifth Unbeaten Champion
Vikings pull away late to beat Sequoias
West Valley Becomes Fifth Unbeaten Champion
West Valley became just the fifth California community college men’s basketball program to go undefeated and win the state championship. Trailing at halftime, the Vikings overtook College of the Sequoias to win the 2024 3C2A Men’s Basketball Championship at Mt. San Antonio College, 59-51.
West Valley head coach Danny Yoshikawa joins Jerry Tarkanian (1964, Riverside); Jim Newman (1970, Compton); Vance Walberg (2005, Fresno City); Dieter Horton (2006, Fullerton) as the only coaches to win a state title while undefeated.
Like the semifinal games, the championship game was a showcase for defense. The 59 winning points is the seventh lowest point total in the history of the tournament for a winning team. For the second consecutive game, West Valley (33-0), one of the top 10 offensive units this season, was held to its second-lowest game output. Meanwhile, it was the 12th time this season that Sequoias (27-6) allowed an opponent 59 points or less.
Many thought it would be a huge ask for Sequoias to stop the defending state champions and then an unbeaten team that had dominated the news all season long. But it nearly happened. The Giants, who lost last year in the state tournament quarterfinals to Citrus, were trying to win their third state title (1953 and 1982). Sequoias last made a state final in 2000, losing to Porterville.
In the last two season, Sequoias head coach Dallas Jensen has taken the Giants to two final Final Eights. Hired in the spring of 2019, Jensen led the Giants to the north’s second seed after being co-champion of the Central Valley Conference this season. Last year, Sequoias lost in the quarterfinals to Citrus.
West Valley led by as much as nine points in the second half, 37-28, but Sequoias scored the next nine points to tie the game with 11:38 remaining. With 7:12 remaining, Sequoias had built a 42-38 lead, but West Valley countered, tying the game at 43-43 with 5:41 left.
Neither team led by more than two points until West Valley took a 52-49 lead with 1:43 remaining on two Shakir Odunewu free throws. The Giants would extend its lead. After a missed layup by Omari Nesbit, West Valley’s Elijah Mahi hit a jump shot, giving the Giants a five-point lead with 1:08 left. West Valley would go on to close out the game behind two free throws from Mahi.
In the end, West Valley outscored Sequoias 13-5 over the final 3:41.
West Valley was led by Elijah Mahi, the north’s state player of the year. Mahi scored a game-high 30 points, the second time he had scored 30 points or more this season. Teammate Shakir Odunewu, another all-state player, added 13 points and 14 rebounds, 9 of them on the defensive end. The Giants outrebounded Sequoias 34-30. Sequoias was led by Jose Cuello, the hero of the Giants’ semifinal win, with 27 points. Alex Argandar added 12 points.
The title game was the sixth for the Vikings, dating back to 1992. Three championship game appearances (’92, ’95, 96) were under former coach and CCCMBCA Hall of Famer Bob Burton and Yoshikawa (’06, ’22, ’24).
“To be very honest with you, I don’t think I’ll know for another week,” said Yoshikawa, of what the title meant to the school. “For me, it’s long overdue. Our program has been an elite program for a long time. I think about all the players that came before this team and all of them who played under coach Burton.”
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Elijah Mahi, West Valley
Shakir Odunewu, West Valley
Jeremiah Dargan, West Valley
Devon Malcolm, Yuba
Jeremiah Davis, Fullerton
Jose Cuello, Sequoias
Cameron Clark, Sequoias