The Wildcats ( 11-13, 7-3) overcame a dismal offensive first half, including a scoreless second quarter, to earn a come-from-behind victory over the Vikings (14-9, 8-2), who need Milpitas to stumble if a league championship is in their future.

"We had a letdown," Viking coach Peter Diepenbrock said. "They have some seniors. They have some pride. and they hit some big shots."

Palo Alto cut the lead to one with less than a minute left when, with Los Gatos Ieading by five, junior Cliff Anderson banked in a putback and after a Viking steal, senior Nik Ajagu hit a pull-up jumper.

The Vikings were forced to intentionally foul, but, despite the Wildcats missing consecutive free throws, Palo Alto couldn't get a shot to go and time ran out.

"We had some good looks," Diepenbrock said.

The Vikings seemed to have the game in control in the tirst half, leading most ot the first quarter. They then raced out to an 8-0 second quarter run that put them ahead 18-11 at the half, paced by tough inside play by Ajagu. who finished with a team-high 17 points.

"They were very physical (in the first half)," Los Gatos coach Jim Marino said. `'We had to get physical with them."

But despite their increased intensity, the Wildcats still couldn't manage to slow Ajagu and the Vikings early in the second half. The senior forward started the third quarter with two quick buckets, including a slash through the lane for a layup that gave the Vikings an 11-point lead, their largest of the game.

"He's very hard to defend," Marino said of Ajagu. "He's very active. He really has a nice touch around the basket."

But just as Ajagu was beginning to heat up in the third quarter, the cold-shooting Wildcats were ignited by the hot shooting of senior forward Matt Gingery. Gingery nailed a three-pointer to answer Ajagu's layup, sparking a 19-7 Wildcat run that gave them the lead with 5:45 left to play.

Gingery, who finished with a game-high 22 points, later pulled up for a three with a man in his face, and drained it to give the Cats the 37-32 lead from which the Vikings couldn't fight back.

"He took better shots in the second half than he did in the first," Marino said of Dingery. "We took better shots. We moved the ball a lot better in the second half."

Palo Alto will try to stay near the top of the division when they return to action next week, hosting Wilcox Wednesday before ending the season against cross-town rival Gunn on Friday.