Playing a first half like a team that hadn't played a game in two weeks, West Valley came alive after halftime for a 74-56 New Year's Eve win over a talented Skyline College squad.

The Vikings last hit the hardwood against Cuesta on Dec. 18, and it showed early Friday night. WVC uncharacteristically turned the ball over on multiple possessions and missed far more shots than they made, but still had a 25-24 lead at the break.

As has been their pattern all year, West Valley came out hot on offense and stifling on defense to open the second half. Quinn Denker hit back-to-back threes to boost WVC to a 33-28 lead at the 17:20 mark and the Vikings never looked back, outscoring Skyline 49-32 in the second.

WVC (12-2) held the Trojans (8-6) to only three points from 16:07 to 9:53 while scoring 17 themselves to build an insurmountable 52-35 lead. The teams traded buckets the rest of the way, with five unanswered points from Skyline's Ryan Wilson inside the final :32 making the final margin appear closer than it could have been.  

Adam Afifi fueled the second-half charge with 16 of his game-high 21 points. Denker drained three treys in the second to finish with 13 points, while Ben Baker had 10. Colby Vazquez led the Trojans with 14 points.

West Valley opens Coast-South Conference action Friday, Jan. 7 with a home game against Highway 17 rival Cabrillo (7-6). Tipoff is 7:00pm.