Sunnyslope's new boys basketball season started just like the previous season ended.

But unlike the 2015-16 big school championship game, the Vikings returned to the win column in a tournament championship game Friday.

With their 51-31 tournament final win against another 2015-16 state runner-up, Agua Fria, the Vikings made sure the Sunnyslope tournament's first place trophy remained at home. Sunnyslope also defeated Sandra Day O'Connor and Rancho Solano Prep in the tournament. 

Not a bad way to open the season.

Game recap vs. O'Connor

Sunnyslope dominated during the second day of its annual Hoopsgiving Basketball Tournament.

The Vikings defeated 6A Conference representative Sandra Day O’Connor 53-33 in the second round of the tournament. The top scorers for Sunnyslope were junior power forward Orozco Chris with 17 points, junior shooting guard Kyle Fischer with 10 points and junior shooting guard Bryson MeWhinney with eight points.

“I thought they played well especially on the defensive end," Sunnyslope head coach Ray Portela said. "We held O’Connor to 33 points. Our problem was we struggled a little bit against their zone,” 

Since it is still early, Sunnyslope is still working on some details, but Portela believes his team will improve as the season progresses.  

“We’re playing hard," Portela said. "Our intensity is there. We just have to get over some mental lapses and execute a little bit better. The effort is there.”

But the team still has many strengths.

“We have a talented group," Sunnyslope's coach said. "We had a good playoff run last year, so we have a lot of experience. We just need to see what it takes to get back to that high level of play.”