OAKLAND >> Couraji West might have been 9 inches shorter than 6-foot-9 Fremont-Oakland center Tyreese West, but the Oakland High guard wasn’t bothered.

The senior battled in the post, fronting and denying his much taller foe both good position and the ball in the fourth quarter of a pivotal Oakland Athletic League game.

In the process, West exemplified the grit that powered the Wildcats to a come-from-behind 61-55 victory in East Oakland on Wednesday night.

“I love it,” said West, who also scored four points.. “I’ve been short my whole life, but I’ve been playing big since I was little. So that matchup with the big, I love that.”

Oakland rallied from a 26-12 first-quarter deficit after Fremont scorched the net to the tune of five 3-pointers in the first 8 minutes. Fremont remained ahead throughout the second quarter too, going into the halftime break up 37-30.

Once they got into the locker room, the Wildcats took their coach’s message to heart.

“I asked them at halftime, ‘Are y’all gonna quit, or are y’all gonna fight and get back in it? Because these guys aren’t going to stop being physical, and if you don’t match their intensity, we’re going to lose,’ ” Oakland coach Orlando Watkins said.

A previously untried lineup fueled the comeback, one that Watkins said had not played together at any point in the season until Wednesday night.

That five — West, Da’sean Armstrong, Eric Jackson, Dominique Trotter and Khaleed Odumuyiwa — played lockdown defense in the fourth quarter while Armstrong scored six points on three spectacular layups in the final 5 minutes of the game.

After the unheralded five got Oakland the lead, starting 6-foot-5 forward Romyn Waugh re-entered the game with renewed energy and got two putback layups late to pad the lead.

Armstrong led all scorers with 21 points, while Trotter had 11 points and Waugh had 10 points for Oakland (18-6, 6-1). Zaire Albert had 14 points and Deyonte Spears had 12 points for Fremont (15-11, 4-4).

With the victory, Oakland remained in contention for a share of the league title. The Wildcats have an entire week to prepare for its last league game against rival Oakland Tech.

Independence 82, Lincoln 59 >> Indy (14-6, 7-0 BVAL) continued its winning ways, remaining unblemished in league play with a home blowout of Lincoln (11-10, 2-5). The Sixers have won 10 games in a row overall and have not lost since Dec. 27. They are three games from completing an unbeaten league slate and have won all but one league game by double-digit points — the lone exception a 65-58 win at Lincoln on Jan. 17.

San Mateo 55, Aragon 50 >> San Mateo (17-4, 9-0 PAL) remained unbeaten in league play with a close win over Aragon (11-9, 5-4) on the road. Zidane Auzerang led San Mateo with 20 points, supported by Cameron Palma’s 12. Jasper Caffo led Aragon with 21 points.

Milpitas 65, Palo Alto 43 >> Jacob Wrencher scored the first five baskets for Milpitas — on two jumpers, two offensive-rebound putbacks and a layup off a turnover — as the Trojans jumped to a 10-2 lead and were never threatened. Milpitas (18-3, 8-1) moved into first place in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division, a half-game ahead of Palo Alto (17-3, 7-1), with the win. It avenged a 44-37 loss at Palo Alto earlier in the season.

— Glenn Reeves

Girls basketball

No. 4 San Ramon Valley 52, St. Mary’s-Stockton 39 >> In a rematch of last season’s NorCal Open Division playoff opener, the Wolves got revenge on visiting St. Mary’s in a gritty defensive battle. Ella Gunderson led the way with 22 points while in foul trouble, and Alyssa Rudd had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Carly Stern had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. San Ramon Valley improved to 22-3 and will play at rival Monte Vista today.

No. 8 Piedmont 50, No. 10 Bishop O’Dowd 47 >> In a battle between the top teams in the West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division, visiting Piedmont drew level in the standings when it outlasted O’Dowd. Freshman post Andrea Martin had 5 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks, while Briana Webb had a team-high 15 points. Savannah Dennig did a little bit of everything for Piedmont, scoring eight points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and freshman point guard Jenelle Solis had 12 points and three assists. Jayla Stokes led O’Dowd with 12 points, and Emilyn Haw scored 11 points. Piedmont improved to 18-4, 5-1 while the Dragons dropped to 13-7, 5-1.

No. 16 Salesian 80, Richmond 14 >> The Pride routed across-the-street opponent Richmond on Senior Night, with Vanessa Parilla leading all scorers with 20 points. Janiya Sawyer scored 11 points and nabbed seven steals, while Jamia Sawyer scored 12 points and had nine steals. Perla Hernandez led Richmond with six points. Salesian improved to 16-8, while Richmond remained winless at 0-17. The teams play in different divisions of the Tri-County Athletic League.

Burlingame 53, El Camino 32 >> Slow and steady won the race for Burlingame (14-5, 9-0 PAL) on Wednesday night. The Panthers scored at least 11 points in each period and shut down El Camino (11-10, 6-3) down the stretch, holding the Colts to five points in the fourth quarter. Nine players got on the score sheet for Burlingame, co-led by Haleh Ansari and Hailey Miller with 10 points apiece. Isabella Fernandez led El Camino with 14 points, followed by Keilani Der with 11.

Girls soccer

No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 3, Valley Christian 0 >> Mitty (13-0-3, 5-0-2 WCAL) continued its unbeaten start to the season with a shutout win over VC (9-4-4, 1-4-2). Zuri Brandt scored the Monarchs’ first goal, assisted by Jimena Portillo, in the sixth minute. Murphy Walsh netted a brace for Mitty, scoring in the 22nd minute (assist from Jasmine Wheeler) and the 29th minute (assist from Shelby Hopwood). Goalkeeper Layla Tucakovic had three saves to keep VC off the score sheet.

No. 2 St. Francis 3, Sacred Heart Cathedral 1 >> St. Francis (13-1-1, 6-1 WCAL) continues to nip at Mitty’s heels in a tight WCAL race. The Lancers received goals from Mehr Khera, Miliani Makasini and Kamryn Rosa in the win. SHC dropped to 8-3-5 (2-2-3 WCAL).

Boys soccer

No. 1 Bellarmine 0, No. 7 Serra 0 >> Serra goalkeeper Dominic Kamienski was a star as the Padres became the first team all season to hold the Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team scoreless in a match. Serra coach Mike Keller said Justin Hollister was also a standout for the San Mateo school in Wednesday’s West Catholic Athletic League match. Bellarmine is 13-1-2, 9-0-1 and Serra is 10-4-2 and 6-3-1.