Sobrato rides free throws, third quarter to complete sweep of Live Oak

Friday’s rivalry game between Live Oak and Sobrato can be summed up in one shot.
Karl Mann when up for a 3-pointer as the clock reached zeros in the third quarter and the ball swooshed through the net as the buzzer sounded.
It was the cap of a quarter that turned a one-point game at halftime into a 13-point lead for Sobrato, who was still battling for a spot in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Tournament.
Despite a furious comeback by Live Oak in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to stave off Sobrato, who went on to win 49-40 on the Acorns’ Senior Night.
“They hit some open shots, got some offensive rebounds and that was the difference in the game,” said Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci said. “But we battled all the way to the end and that’s what kept it close. … You can’t question our hustle, our commitment, our effort, it was there all night.”
Mann has 266 points this year. Of them, 263 have come from inside the arc.
“At halftime we went into the locker room and it was a (one)-point game, we said we had to come out strong and we had to show them — we didn’t play our game in the first half and we had to show them what Bulldog basketball was,” Mann said.
The win qualified the Bulldogs for the BVAL tournament from the Santa Teresa Division
The Bulldogs held Live Oak to just two third quarter points.
“We knew that the problem was in the first half we were beating ourselves,” said Sobrato coach Lee Washington. “We were losing the turnover battle trying to make long passes. So we just turned it up in the second half and just made sure we took care of business, got shots up and crashed the boards.”
The crowd went crazy on the Sobrato side. Just as it settled down at the start of the fourth quarter, Mann hit an awkward layup to put the Bulldogs up by 15 that got the fans on their feet again.
From then on, the Bulldogs made 12 free throws to clinch the game.
But Live Oak never quit, cutting a 15-point deficit down to five thanks to a 12-3 scoring run.
On senior night, with the eight graduating Acorns being honored before the game, there was a lot of emotion on the court.
“I had Kalum (Bergstrom) and Luke (Laguna) for three years. … I wish we had a better season, especially tonight to have left on a positive note,” Paolucci said. “But it’s been a joy. Every year the senior night is an emotional night. I just hope they left with a positive experience playing basketball at Live Oak.”
Live Oak’s point guard Ryan Rupp was misty-eyed when he returned from the locker room, but was positive on his time at Live Oak and his two years in a varsity uniform.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Playing with (Coach) Reggie as a JV player was (great). I played a lot of basketball — I started when I was real young — but playing at Live Oak was the best times I had,” Rupp said.
On his last night in a Live Oak uniform, Laguna put up 17 points, including going seven of eight from the line in the fourth quarter.
He led all shooters for the game, followed by Mann’s 16 and Kristian Maldia putting up 11.
Bergstom finished with seven points, followed by Taylor Pullen who hit a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter to finish with six.
Although the Acorns had chances to cut the deficit further, they couldn’t get the shots to fall in the final minute.
They got into a foul game, and Sobrato went on a 9-0 run to close out the game.
The fourth quarter was more akin to just how close the game was for the first half.
Sobrato led 21-20 at the break, needing an 11-0 run to take the lead. Live Oak, however, maintained its pressure, closing out the quarter on a 10-3 run.
The Acorns forced the Bulldogs into 12 turnovers in the first half, while keeping their own give aways to six.
“In the first half, we didn’t have our hands ready for the pass we knew we had to catch it like a football, basically, like we were a wide receiver,” Mann said.
The turnovers in the first quarter allowed Live Oak to jump out to a 10-5 lead before Mann hit a bucket to end the first frame with Sobrato trailing 10-7.
In the second quarter, Maldia hit a trey to spark the 11-point run for the Bulldogs.
Sobrato hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter to ultimately take the 21-20 lead at the break.
Where the Bulldogs got into the lead with 3-pointers, it was the free throw line that clinched the win.
Sobrato made 15 of 25 from the charity stripe to put the game away.
No one was bigger in that effort than freshman Jason Rhoads, who went seven of eight from the line. He also came into the game to shoot a pair of free throws after Live Oak was called for an intentional foul, making them both.
“I’m going to start calling him ‘The Clutch One.’ I’ve never seen a freshman in my four years or all my time watching high school basketball, I’ve never seen a freshman come into a rivalry game like this with that many people and hit seven out of eight free throws in the fourth quarter. I can’t say enough about that kid; he’s going to be great one day.”
Live Oak wasn’t bad from the line, hitting 13 of 19.
Sobrato will learn its tournament seed today.