Afifi's 27 helps Vikings jolt Jaguars 90-71 in key Coast-South contest

Adam Afifi scores two of his game-high 27 against San Jose City
Adam Afifi scores two of his game-high 27 against San Jose City

It didn't take long for Adam Afifi to make his presence felt in Wednesday night's battle between two of NorCal's top teams. West Valley's 6-9 post player canned three straight buckets to boost the Vikings to a 12-10 lead over San Jose City at 15:32 and then scored five more four minutes later for a 24-19 lead WVC never relinquished.

When the much-anticipated battle was over, West Valley had run away from the Jaguars 90-71 and the Vikings had improved to 17-3, 5-0 in the Coast-South. The loss dropped the Jaguars to 16-4, 2-2 in the Coast-South.

The two squads traded baskets for most of the opening stanza, before Afifi and Ben Baker, who both netted 12 in the first half, caught fire. Quinn Denker had nine and Sufyan Elkannan eight, including a pair of deep threes, to help the Vikings to a 46-37 advantage at the break.

Ten points from Afifi fueled a 23-14 run to open the second half. Elkannan's three with 2:39 left gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the night at 86-65.

Afifi led all scorers with 27 points, while Denker and Elkannan finished with 16 apiece. Baker had 15 and Mahmoud Fofana had nine. The Jaguars were paced by Trent Blackshire's 22 points.

West Valley has the rest of the week off before returning to action next Tuesday, Feb. 2 with a 7:00pm game at Cabrillo (9-7, 2-1).