Gunderson outscored the Acorns 45-17 in the final 14 minutes and
pulled away to a shocking 63-54 victory Wednesday
SAN JOSE — Standing at the free-throw line with six seconds remaining and his team trailing by seven, Live Oak’s Michael Schreiber glanced back at the scoreboard inside the Gunderson High School gym and gave a sigh.
His look said everything.
The Acorns held a three-point lead less than four minutes earlier. Nine minutes before that, their lead was 21. After Schreiber’s one-and-one shot rimmed out, Grizzlies point guard Moses Kinnah grabbed the rebound, drew a foul, then made a pair of free throws at the other end to complete a 30-point turnaround.
Outscoring the Acorns 45-17 in the final 14 minutes, Gunderson pulled away to a shocking 63-54 victory Wednesday in Blossom Valley Athletic League-West Valley Division play.
Live Oak (5-11 overall, 1-4 BVAL) built an enormous lead only to watch it dwindle more as each of the Acorns’ top three big men fouled out. Centers Shane Herber and David Beckum went first, then forward Dominic Leach. Live Oak played with five guards for the final 7 1/2 minutes.
“It was a pretty hard loss; one of the toughest,” said Schreiber, who shot 6 for 10 from the field on the way to collecting 13 points and four assists. “It would have helped to have the big guys in late. But still, we have to get the job done at the end by guarding their posts.”
The Acorns, who have struggled with foul trouble in each of their four division losses, got 15 points and eight steals from Cody Galliziolli and 10 points and five rebounds from Leach.
“Fouls were the difference, no question,” Live Oak coach Vince Pacheco said. “We couldn’t match their size in the last quarter. We had one big, Leach. And he got in foul trouble, and they went right at him. I had nowhere to go but to small guys and hope to keep the game close.”
The Acorns put together a stellar first half, shooting 13 for 26 (50 percent) and making tough shots in the paint off pick-and-rolls, high-lows and back-door passes. Highlights included a reverse layup by Galliziolli, turnaround jumpers by Herber and Dylan Davis, plus an and-one layin by Beckum off an inbound pass from Schreiber.
Live Oak led 30-14 at halftime and took its biggest lead at 38-19 on a fade-away shot by Schreiber with 5:24 left in the third quarter.
“We had to do anything to change the momentum of the game,” said Gunderson coach Kevin Blunt, who used a full-court press for most of the second half. “We’re really more of a man-to-man zone type of team. But when you’re down like that, you have to make changes.”
The Grizzlies went on a 29-7 scoring run, taking their first lead — 47-46 — when Eric Ortega nailed a 3-pointer with 6:35 remaining. Kinnah netted 10 of his game-high 17 points during that stretch and fed a kick-out pass to Ortega for the go-ahead shot.
“(Kinnah) stood out,” Schreiber said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game going in. I knew they were going to come back. They came to play.”
Schreiber made two layups; and Galliziolli two free throws to put the Acorns back in front 52-49. But Gunderson dominated the rest of the way, ending the game on a 14-2 run.
“Schreiber’s the man,” Pacheco said. “Him and Cody are potential first-team all-leaguers. We’re just not getting big numbers behind them. They have a knack to score. They have a knack for leadership. … We need five or six more guys doing what they’re doing.”
Devin Windham, a 6-foot-5 center, collected a double-double with 16 points and a dozen rebounds for the Grizzlies (7-10, 4-1), and Ortega and Lewis Shaw joined him in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Windham highlighted the comeback victory with a two-handed dunk in the final minute.
“We needed more size at the end,” Davis said. “It was kind of hard when they had that big guy (Windham) playing off the glass. We just got tired defending him.
“This is the toughest loss this year for sure.”
The Acorns are back at home Friday to face Prospect at 7:30 p.m. Live Oak has lost three of its last four, with each defeat coming by single-digit margin.
“We’re going to get one of these close ones,” Pacheco said. “It’s going to tip over when it means something. Every possession means something. Every foul means something. They’re going to learn that.”
