The fine line between a hard-fought victory and a tough defeat
reared its ugly head again for the Live Oak boy’s basketball
team
MORGAN HILL — Vince Pacheco probably walked miles in his living room last weekend.
Live Oak’s first-year coach and his players could not have had a more tormenting opening week of division play. Two games decided in the final minute; two losses — both at home.The latest came Friday in a 59-56 defeat versus Lincoln.
The Acorns rallied from a 13-point deficit to pull even at 56-all with five seconds remaining. The Lions drew an intentional foul at the other end, though, and Rossiano RaBon rattled home a game-winning free throw with 2.3 seconds left. Edvin Jazvin added a layup off the inbound pass as time expired.
“I have no answers after this one,” said Pacheco, whose team fell 68-63 to Branham two nights earlier. “These kids definitely got coach Pacheco’s stamp of hard work tonight. There’s no quit in my boys. There’s no quit.”
That was put to rest in the fourth quarter when the Acorns (4-9 overall, 0-2 Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division) outscored the Lions 21-14. Live Oak’s Shane Herber sank a midrange jumper to tie it 56-56. But Lincoln’s Rich Azure lobbed the inbound pass across court to RaBon, who was fouled from behind by Dylan Davis while going up for a shot.
“It was the same situation as last game,” said Herber, a senior center. “We were down a couple points and we kind of put our heads down and didn’t do what we were supposed to do. This time, we listened to coach more on what he wanted us to do. We found out it helps us a lot.”
Acorns swingman Cody Galliziolli jump-started the rally with his buzzer-beating basket from beyond half court to end the third quarter. That cut Lincoln’s lead to 45-35.
“It was all luck,” said Galliziolli, who scored a team-high 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting. “I’ve never made a shot like that — ever. I’ve always wanted to in a game, though. I didn’t want to overcelebrate. We were still down 10.”
Galliziolli helped chip away at the deficit with his eight points in the fourth quarter. Junior forward Dominic Leach added five points down the stretch — part of his 14 points and seven rebounds. Live Oak point guard Michael Schreiber finished with nine points and three assists, and Herber had seven rebounds and four steals to go with five points.
“On the positive side, they bled for the Green and Gold tonight,” Pacheco said. “Dominic Leach gave everything he had. Michael Schreiber gave everything he had. It was coach Pacheco Live Oak basketball. That was a hard-fought game.”
For every clutch field goal the Acorns nailed in the fourth quarter, the Lions answered with a trip to the free-throw line or a basket off a turnover.
Lincoln totaled 14 takeaways.
“Every time we have a chance to win, something goes off; a bad turnover or we foul or can’t hit a big shot,” Galliziolli said. “We have to protect the ball better.”
The Lions had to overcame their own double-digit deficit. They trailed by a dozen — 17-5 — after Leach buried a 3-pointer with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
Live Oak led 26-23 at halftime, but was losing momentum.
“We were down at first, but we stayed together; stayed composed as a team,” Azure said. “Everybody pitched in. … When we made a mistake, we didn’t let it get us down.”
Added Jazvin: “It was a competitive game, very challenging. They have some big guys who play good defense. They’ve got a good team, but we pulled through in the end.”
Jazvin collected a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Matt Thompson scored 15 points to lead Lincoln (7-6, 2-0). Azure finished with 10 points and seven steals.
“Rich Azure, mentally, he’s the best pure guard in our league hands down,” Pacheco said. “He has an IQ above all players at our level. He’ll make guys wealthy around him — he’s that good. He made (RaBon) wealthy. He made (Thompson) wealthy.
“Thompson can flat out shoot it. He soaked up our 12-point lead like he had something to do.”
Thompson, a sophomore wing, buried three 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Aaron Bueno sank a trey with eight seconds left, pushing the Lions ahead 45-32.
“One of the things I told the guys to do when we have runs or droughts is to keep composure,” Lincoln coach Joe Mentillo said. “We need our defense to make stops. When our defense does that, it creates energy for our offense.”
With the crowd growing louder each minute, the Lions scored eight of their 14 points from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
“We work on staying calm at practice,” Mentillo said. “We’ll shoot free throws with everyone screaming, or sometimes we’ll just have silence.
“It’s important to step up when it’s hectic out there.”
Lincoln continues league play at Branham on Wednesday, while the Acorns travel to James Lick.
“Once we start playing four quarters like we did in the fourth quarter tonight — that’s going to get us over the hump,” Pacheco said.
