Two teams entered Friday’s game looking to take the top seed in the De Anza division, but by night’s end, one team emerged clearly as the most deserving of the league crown.

The Vikings (23-1, 10-0) came in on a 14 game winning streak needing a win to secure their third consecutive league title. Cross-town rival Gunn (18-7, 8-2) was looking to avenge their 55-61 loss to the Vikings on Jan. 20.

The Vikings entered a hostile environment on their rival’s campus facing numerous taunts and demeaning posters from Gunn fans. Head coach Peter Diepenbrock and his squad appeared unfazed by either the jeers, or the pressure from to the overwhelming significance of the game.

“Obviously it’s not just another game,” Diepenbrock said. “But we have the same preparation for this game as any other.”

The city of Palo Alto enjoyed another magnificent game between its two high school powerhouses.

The Vikings, like always, played a simple man-to-man defense but focused their attention on Gunn’s star players — juniors Peter Jordan and David Riley. Jordan averages 25 points a game and Riley scored 25 points in the Jan. 20 game. Diepenbrock, however, was not overly concerned with either of their capabilities.

“We have faith in Cooper’s [Miller] ability to shut down Peter Jordan,” Diepenbrock said. “We can’t do much differently about Riley. He made a lot of tough shots last game.”

Unlike in the first match-up, the Titans defense switched between zone and man-to-man causing confusion and turnovers for the Vikings.
In the first quarter, the Titans jumped out to a 10-5 lead, but Paly regained composure as they tied the score at 12 to end the quarter.

The second quarter featured both teams’ outside shooting. The Vikings shot 3-4 from beyond the arc, but the Titans entered half time with a 24-23 lead.

The Vikings shot only 5-16 in the half but shot an amazing 9-11 from the free throw line. Senior guard Jeremy Lin hit four of those free throws and amassed six points in the half. The real surprise came from Vikings’ sixth man senior Kevin Trimble who hit two threes and made three free throws. Gunn shot 8-17 in the first half and shot 6-8 from the free throw line.

In the third quarter, the Vikings shot 7-12 but the Titans matched them point for point. Late in the quarter, the Titans held a slight lead when Jordan, who had been scoreless up until that point, stole the ball and stuffed the ball down the Vikings’ net. The Gunn crowd erupted, but a referee signaled that Jordan had double-dribbled before the dunk. In a split second, the entire momentum of the game shifted to the Paly side whose fans gloated at Jordan’s misfortune. The Vikings finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 39-35 lead, and they never looked back.

The Viking lead continued into the fourth quarter at which point Gunn began getting into foul trouble. As the game began to slip away, the Titans began making hasty and ill-advised shots causing the Viking lead to grow. Neither team led by more than five points until the Titans fell apart in the fourth quarter giving the Vikings a 57-41 win. Lin handled the ball beautifully as he weaved through Titan double teams. Lin scored nine points including five free throws to help clinch the victory.

“I’ve been practicing all year for this,” Lin said. “I came out confident and knocked them down.”

Lin led the Vikings with 17 points though Trimble and senior forward Steven Brown trailed not too far behind with 15 points each. Fans cheered on the “Albino Rhino” [Trimble] as he hit four three pointers, most of which helped stop a Titan rally.

“My confidence in my shot had been down, but it all came back today,” Trimble said. “And what a day for it to come back.”

Although the rest of the Vikings contributed only 10 points between them, each played a significant role in the victory.

“It was a great team effort,” Lin said. “Everyone did exactly what they needed to do.”

Forward Kheaton Scott had six points and pulled down seven rebounds. Forward Cooper Miller was held scoreless, but his role was stopping Jordan, and he did so, limiting him to just two points that came late in the fourth quarter

“Cooper’s not just a defensive player, but tonight we didn’t need him to score for us to be successful,” Diepenbrock said. “As always, he played superb defense.”

The Vikings shot only 43 percent, but made seven three-pointers and an unbelievable 18-21 from the free throw line. The Vikings usually shoot way below tonight’s average.

“We make them when we have to,” Diepenbrock said.

The Titans shot 5-17 in the second half scoring only six points in the final quarter. By game’s end, it was clear that the Vikings were the better team.

The Vikings finish their regular season next week with two home games. At 7 p.m. on Feb. 15, the Vikings host Fremont and at 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 17, the Vikings finish the regular season against Mountain View. From there, it is on to CCS playoffs.

Reporter Jennifer Audet contributed to this article.