DVC’s men’s basketball team is off to a promising preseason start.
The Vikings made it to the championship game for the second tournament in a row, this time losing 76-58 to San Jose City College, in the Chevron Invitational on Nov. 29 at DVC. At the time, San Jose was ranked No. 1 in Northern California.
The loss marked a first for the Vikings who saw their record fall to 5-1.
Still, the Vikings moved up in the latest coaches’ poll to No. 5 in the state and No. 3 in Northern California.
“A lot of teams think we can’t battle with them because we are lacking size,” said sophomore guard Benji Arvizu. “[But] the whole team is confident we can compete with any team, because we have such a great team bond and we all work so well together.”
The Vikings had an easy road to the championship game, disposing of Feather River 79-54 and handling Contra Costa 82-52.
Their early success has been paced by two newcomers to the roster, Jordan Estrada, a freshman from De La Salle High School, and Brandon May who was with the team during its 2007-2008 season but ineligible last year for academic reasons.
May leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.6 points and 7 rebounds a game, while also pitching in 2.6 assists.
“He redshirted last year and, in the offseason, … worked pretty hard,” Coach Steve Coccimiglio said. “In the summer, he went to an elite junior college camp with the top 120 players in the country and held his own.
“I think he’s one of the better players in Northern California.”
Estrada provides an offensive spark off the bench, averaging 12.8 points a game while leading the team in assists with 4.5 a game.
He made his presence felt in a huge game against Ohlone in which he finished with a season-high, 31 points, including eight three-pointers.
DVC has played the last two games without Estrada, who has been out with an ankle sprain, but Coccimiglio said he hopes to be back for DVC’s next game today against Monterey Peninsula
“If we have him on the 10th, fine,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll shoot for the 18th, when we go to West Valley’s tournament.”
With the quick start to the season, the Vikings’ confidence is high, and they are optimistic about their chances come conference play.
“I think we have an unbelievable shot at winning conference,” Arvizu said. “We have a team that plays with so much heart and desire to win.”