Live Oak started off with a quick 6-0 lead and never looked back
in the 55-46 win at Gilroy Tuesday night.
Live Oak started off with a quick 6-0 lead and never looked back in the 55-46 win at Gilroy Tuesday night.
The Acorns allowed just 13 points in the first half, but Gilroy came back in the second half with 33 points.
“Last two game we started off the first half on fire, then had a little down fall in the second half,” said Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci. “They made a little run, but we had runs of our own. We didn’t turn over the ball (a lot). We played with composure, and we got some good shots.”
Live Oak (17-4, 3-2 TCAL) is currently in third place – a game behind Hollister and two games behind Salinas in the Tri-County Athletic League. Hollister defeated Palma 54-47 to keep pace and leave Live Oak alone for third place.
“Our league is much tougher this year just because you’ve really got three teams (Hollister, Live Oak, Salinas) who are playing extremely well,” said Gilroy coach Michael Baumgartner, whose squad won a share of the MBL title last season. “And you’ve still got North Salinas who is athletic as anybody else around in CCS, and then you’ve got us who play hard and will surprise a few teams.”
Gilroy guard Ron Coleman, who led the team with 15 points, hit a three pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter from beyond the half-court mark, and Gilroy had three treys in the fourth quarter, but the Acorns had built too much of a lead.
“I am happy with the win,” Paolucci said. “I got to hand it to Gilroy. They never gave up. Some of their reserves came in and got them back into the game. We had no answer for that guy (Coleman).”
Live Oak won the previous meeting between the two teams en route to a championship in the Bob Hagen Tournament.
“That was a month ago,” Paolucci said. “Both teams are different. We’ve put in some new offenses. Both our zone and our man defenses are working well right now. When you play Gilroy you throw the records out. It doesn’t matter what you do before.”
Miles Curley led the Acorns with 16 points. Scott Moquin, who drained two outside shots, had 12. Joel Wright, the Acorn leading long shooter, had 10 points including a pair of treys. Big men Drew Pearson and Maciek Bratkowski combined for just 11 points. The Acorns, who have a better outside game than inside, will need these guys to step up more down the stretch.
In the doubleheader game against Hollister tonight, the Acorns will have to shut down Kyle Sharp if they hope to move into second place. The boys game follows the girls game during the Live Oak homecoming.
