It was sloppy, ugly and at times it was downright pathetic, but in the end, the result was the same -– The Vikings beat rival Gunn and the Vikings won at home, both extending streaks that date back to before any of the current Vikings were in high school.

On Friday, after a lackluster first half left the Vikings with a one-point lead, Paly took over in the second half to win 47-36 over their heated rivals, sending legions of dejected Titan fans back across town.

Since their last meeting on Jan. 19, when the Vikings went to Gunn and left with a 56-46 win, the Vikings suffered a devastating, 44-41, loss to the Cupertino Pioneers a week later. The Vikings rebounded with wins over Los Gatos and Saratoga, taking first place in the De Anza division with a half-game lead over the Pioneers and the Titans before Friday’s action.

Following Friday’s win over Gunn (18-8, 7-4 league) and with the Pioneers (20-6, 7-4) loss to Fremont, the Vikings (15-7, 8-2 league) now lead the division by a game and a half. The Pioneers and Titans each have one more game while the Vikings have two, but even in the worst case scenario, the Vikings will still share the league crown.

Friday’s game began promising for the home team as the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to start the game before the Titans scored four quick points. Gunn went cold at the end of the first quarter, missing six straight shots, while the Vikings sloppily put up points. The Vikings held the 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Titans quickly cut into that lead in the second.

The Vikings shot 2-10 in the second quarter with all four points coming from junior Dom Powell. The Titans were only 4 of 12, but a 6-0 run to end the half cut the halftime lead to 17-16 in favor of the home team.

Just a minute into the second half, the Titans tied the game at 18, but that was as close as they would get; the Titans never once took the lead. The third quarter was highlighted by six points from senior Christian Bakken and four points from junior Mike Scott, who was only getting warmed up.

With the 28-20 third quarter lead, the Vikings began to pull away as the Titans tried desperately to stay in the game. As the clocked ticked down, the Titans began fouling the Vikings to force free throws and extend the game. Scott made 8 of 12 free throws alone in the final quarter to go with three field goals, giving him 14 points in the fourth quarter, two less than the entire Gunn team.

“I just got a rush,” Scott said. “I knew I needed to take the game over and put it out of reach.”

The final score showed the Vikings winning 47-36 in a forgettable game, but a victory is a victory and especially against Gunn. Though the offense was shaky and inconsistent, the Viking defense was stellar, eliminating Gunn’s star senior Peter Jordan. Titan senior David Riley broke through late in the game, getting into double digits, but it was too late.

“I’m just happy that we beat Gunn,” said Powell, playing in his first home game against Gunn. “We’re first in league with just two [games] to go.”

The Vikings are in the home stretch, knowing that a fourth straight league title was within their reach. With Friday’s win, the Vikings are in control of their own destiny, needing only to win out the remaining two games to take the title, and with it, a higher seed in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

The Vikings head to Milpitas on Feb. 13 before returning home for the final game of the regular season against Fremont on Feb. 16. The Vikings beat both teams earlier in the season. The Vikings will also be without junior Will Goodspeed for the remainder of the season who suffered a lower leg injury this past week. The Fremont game takes place on the final quad night of the year and the boys tip-off at 7:45 p.m.