Whoever came up with the brilliant idea to schedule two
Tri-County Athletic League games on back-to-back nights for the
Live Oak High boys basketball team this week must have had it in
for the home team. Especially when the opponents are traditionally
tough league rivals Salinas, the defending TCAL champion, and
Palma. The only saving grace was that both games were at Live
Oak.
Whoever came up with the brilliant idea to schedule two Tri-County Athletic League games on back-to-back nights for the Live Oak High boys basketball team this week must have had it in for the home team. Especially when the opponents are traditionally tough league rivals Salinas, the defending TCAL champion, and Palma. The only saving grace was that both games were at Live Oak.
But nothing seems to faze the Acorn boys this season and they battled through the consecutive nights gauntlet to emerge with a pair of victories, edging Salinas 49-48 in a thriller on Tuesday then coming back to hold off Palma 44-36 on Wednesday, to remain unbeaten in TCAL play at 4-0.
Live Oak improved to 17-2 overall and will host Gilroy on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to cap off the first half of the league schedule before playing four of its final five TCAL contests on the road. The Gilroy game will be Senior Night, when the team’s six seniors will be honored.
“These last two games were very important,” Acorn coach Brett Paolucci said. “With two home games in a row, you have to take advantage. We’ll have to pick it up in the second half (of the league schedule). We’re the team with a target on our back. We’re the team to beat. I’m very happy with where we are.”
Apparently, Live Oak already has a target on its back, considering the determination both Salinas and Palma exhibited against the Acorns. Both of this week’s games featured spirited comebacks by the visiting teams.
On Tuesday, Live Oak jumped out to a 15-3 lead after one quarter against the Cowboys, who came into the game tied for first place in league with the Acorns.
Dominating the first three quarters, Live Oak had built a 14-point lead at 41-27 going into the fourth quarter.
But Salinas rallied in the final period behind a combined 12 points from Evan Smith and Kelley McCarty, outscoring the Acorns 21-8 to pull within a point in the closing seconds.
In fact, Salinas had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but a last-second shot rolled off the rim as time expired.
Live Oak’s Joel Wright, who had five 3-pointers against the Cowboys, and Salinas’ Smith shared game-high scoring honors with 19 points each.
On Wednesday, against a Palma team that has yet to win a league game, Live Oak jumped out to an early 12-7 lead before the Chieftains rallied to tie and go ahead in the first half.
The Acorns led 23-20 at the half.
The Acorns built their lead to as much as 10 points at 32-22 midway through the third quarter.
But Palma out-scored Live Oak 10-2 over the next four minutes of play to pull within two points midway through the fourth quarter, and had a chance to tie or go ahead.
However, the Live Oak defense tightened and Wright scored five of his game-high 13 points in the final minutes, including a key 3-pointer, to help the Acorns pull away.
In addition, Jeff Renzuli had a big jumper and Matt van Keulen sank a pair of clutch free throws to pace the effort.
Van Keulen had 11 points in the game for Live Oak.
Despite his team’s tendency to let the two league rivals back in the game, senior forward Steve Conner pointed out that a win is a win.
“We can’t seem to close these out but we’re 4-0 and we’re first in league,” Conner said. “If we win and it’s ugly, it’s still a win.”
