It doesn
’t get any better than the Live Oak High boys basketball team’s
52-51 victory over Piedmont Hills in its home opener on
Tuesday.
It doesn’t get any better than the Live Oak High boys basketball team’s 52-51 victory over Piedmont Hills in its home opener on Tuesday.
The Acorns (9-1 overall) gave themselves an early Christmas present by beating the No. 1-ranked Pirates in front of a big home crowd in a game that came down to the final seconds.
The victory left Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci ecstatic with his team’s perform-ance against a talented, athletic Piedmont Hills team that was coming off a title run at a 32-team tourney in Reno.
“It was a great game the whole time,” Paolucci said. “This was an excellent challenge for us and a good opportunity to see where we are. They came in on a good streak. This is a great win for us.”
Live Oak withstood a Pirate rally late in the game for the victory.
The Acorns led 47-39 with 2:27 to play before Piedmont Hills began its comeback. Live Oak helped out by missing eight of its final 14 free throws.
“That’s what it came down to, they had to foul to get back in the game and nothing was falling for us,” Paolucci said.
The Pirates scored six straight points to pull within 47-45 and had three straight possessions with a chance to tie the game but the Acorn defense, led by seniors Joel Wright and Steve Conner, repelled the charge.
Wright had a big steal and Conner had a huge rebound in the final moments of the game.
The Pirates had one last shot to tie the game trailing 52-49 with nine seconds left but inexplicably settled for a layup as time expired.
Live Oak fashioned its lead with it usual stifling defense that held the high-scoring Pirates to four points in the first quarter.
“We got them down into single digits (on the shot clock) a couple times,” Paolucci said. “Our defense was great.”
Conner had a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds for Live Oak, which hosts Branham at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
