More than halfway through the basketball season, the Vikings are 21-1 and on pace with last year’s team, which ended the season only two wins away from a state championship.

Having won 13 games in a row and going 8-0 in league play, the varsity boys rely on a smothering defense that allows less than 42 points per game and a potent offense that scores over 59 points per game. Despite their success, coach Peter Diepenbrock says his team’s goals have not changed since the beginning of the season.

"We want to win league, CCS [Central Coast Section] and state," Diepenbrock said.

The Vikings secured first place in the De Anza division after defeating Gunn, Fremont and Homestead over the past two weeks. Paly has now beaten each league opponent at least once.

In the game against cross-town rival Gunn on Jan. 20, the Vikings managed to pull out from a halftime deficit to an emotionally gripping 61-55 victory in front of a packed home crowd. Senior forward Steven Brown, who missed multiple games with an ankle injury, poured in 25 points including six three-pointers. The Viking defense held Gunn’s leading scorer, junior Peter Jordan, to just 13 points, 12 points below his season average. For Diepenbrock, the victory is another testament to his team’s determination to achieve its goals.

"We beat a team that played its best game of the year," Diepenbrock said. "That’s what this team does — we win."

After the thrilling victory over Gunn, the Vikings continued their hot streak by pounding Fremont, 64-34, and Homestead, 67-33. Prone to taking an early lead in games, Paly outscored Homestead, 54-12, in the first half.

On Feb. 3, the Vikings faced a tough Milpitas team on the road. The Trojans fared far better this time than in their 19-45 beating suffered to the Vikings earlier in the year. The Vikings’ tough defense helped secure the 45-40 win over a determined Milpitas (17-6, 5-4) squad.

Just like last year’s team, the Vikings are winning with aggressive play on both sides of the court.

In the last two years, the Vikings have lost only three games. Even more remarkable is that Paly lost to three powerhouses: Santa Cruz, Oak Ridge and Price. The combined record for these three teams last year was 96-9 (32-0 in league) and each team won a state championship last year in its respective division.

In past years, the Vikings were a league powerhouse and a constant threat in CCS. However, with several all-star players graduating in 2005 and a surprising number of juniors deciding to not play this season, the team faced the difficult task of repeating last year’s success.

According to Diepenbrock, many give credit to senior forward Kheaton Scott for the team’s achievements. His aggressive defense, clutch shooting and inside presence on the boards give the Vikings a burst of energy that extends to his teammates. Diepenbrock, however, was not surprised by Scott spectacular play this year.

"We knew that Kheaton would be great this year after seeing him play during the summer," Diepenbrock said. "A lot of people were surprised this year, but we knew he’d have success."

In addition to Scott, senior forward Kevin Trimble has drawn praise for his impressive outside shooting.

"He’s the biggest positive this year," Diepenbrock said. "We couldn’t be happier with his defense, rebounds and key shots."

The Vikings are receiving contributions from each player this year. Both Scott and Trimble played limited time last year as juniors, but with more playing time this year, they are showing that their maturity and patience paid off. The current pair of juniors is getting their share of playing time as well. Guards Jonny Palmer and Adam Wandell play crucial minutes for a team whose aggressive style requires frequent substitutions.

Senior guard Jeremy Lin is consistently the team’s top scorer. Senior guard Brad Lehman helped lead the Vikes to victory in crucial games as well. In the victory over Gunn, Lehman scored nine points, including an enormous three-pointer that put the Vikings up for good late in the fourth quarter.

To continue their consistently powerful offense, Paly has stuck to a simple, but effective, formula. According to Diepenbrock, aggressive interior defense and rebounding are the keys to success.

The Vikings focus their defensive effort on their opponent’s star player, and that is when they look to senior forward Cooper Miller. Miller, a wide receiver for the varsity football team, uses his 6’5" presence to cause havoc for opposing players.

"He [Miller] is a very hard person to score against," Diepenbrock said. "He’s quick, big, aggressive and competitive."

Miller guarded Gunn’s Peter Jordan and limited him to only 13 points. Miller’s best defensive game was against Milpitas where he guarded senior Erik Rush, who averaged over 20 points per game coming in. Rush struggled against Miller’s aggressive play and shot 0-11, scoring only one point from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

With a potent offensive and a relentless defense, the Vikings are looking ahead to the CCS playoffs, but Diepenbrock knows his team’s success could lead to overconfidence.

"We want to focus solely on the next game," Diepenbrock said. Paly plays host to Los Gatos at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the big gym.

Diepenbrock doesn’t want his team looking ahead, but the fans, including the newly created "6th Man Club," are all looking ahead to 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 10, when Paly heads across town for a rematch with rival Gunn.

From there, there are just two more league games until playoffs begin, and the Vikings hope to take it one game at a time all the way to a state championship.