Against first-place Lincoln, Acorns’ upset bid stalls in 59-49
loss
MORGAN HILL — The first half against Lincoln on Friday offered a glimpse of Live Oak’s potential; a reminder that the Acorns can hang with any team in the West Valley Division, especially at home.
The second half showed they still have room to improve.
For 16 minutes, the Acorns went toe to toe with Rich Azure and the first-place Lions before a chattery homecoming crowd in Live Oak Gym. The Acorns scored four consecutive points to tie the game, 21-all, at the end of the first quarter, then went ahead by three before Lincoln pulled even, 29-29, at halftime.
That’s when the upset buzz got tuned out. Live Oak was held scoreless for seven minutes while the Lions fortified a 59-49 win.
“I was really happy with our play until the third quarter,” said Acorns coach Brett Paolucci, whose team fell out of a three-way tie for second place behind Lincoln and Lick. “They came out a little more fired up than we did and took advantage of some small mistakes we made like not communicating on defense and protecting the ball.”
Live Oak limited Azure (18.1 points per game), the Lions’ star point guard to a pedestrian 15 points, but that opened the door for junior wing Matt Thompson, who sank a trio of 3-pointers on the way to a game-best 21 points. Azure’s seven assists and four steals helped his team win its fourth straight.
“What he did was huge today, because he’s been used to scoring 20, 30 points a night,” Lincoln coach Joe Mentillo said. “I thought he did a good job getting the ball to guys. He distributed well. Sometimes … you just need to have the right passing.”
Live Oak (7-11 overall, 4-4 league) exemplified that with crisp feeds inside to Dominic Leach during the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 senior scored six of his team-high 14 points in the opening quarter and was a catalyst in getting Lincoln forwards Luis Godoy and Josh Ayala into early foul trouble.
Leach, who shot 6 for 10 from the field, sparked his team’s rally in the first quarter with a turn-around hook shot. He kicked the ball outside to Cody Gallizioli for a game-tying jumper with four seconds left in the period.
“Dominic was pretty big. I’m not going to lie; their post weren’t as strong as he was,” Acorns guard Nathan Seifert said. “He just dominated things down low. Every time we came down the floor, we were looking to see if he was posting up.”
Seifert, who finished with 13 points and three assists, made three straight baskets in the second quarter as Live Oak pushed ahead 26-23. Lincoln’s Nate Berhane made his only two points of the game to tie it 29-all.
“We knew it was a big game for them, and they were going to make a run,” Mentillo said. “As long as we kept our composure and didn’t lose focus, I thought that we could sustain a run.”
The Lions (14-4, 6-2) opened the third quarter with a 10-0 scoring run capped by Thompson’s three-point play. The Acorns committed three turnovers during that stretch.
“We started forcing it, forcing passes and shots. We should have just calmed down,” Seifert said.
Gallizioli fed Leach for an open layup to end the streak, and Seifert caught a rebound and went coast to coast to make it 39-33.
Momentum went back to Lincoln, though, after Leach rolled his ankle and was forced to sit. Azure, a 5-foot-4 senior, made two free throws down the stretch to give his team a 41-35 edge going into the fourth quarter.
“We did a good job stopping (Azure); better than we expected,” Live Oak forward Ryan Hennings said. “Dominic’s ankle injury affected us. When he’s not in there scoring, we don’t really have any other dominant guy that can play the post like him.”
Leach re-entered in the fourth quarter and banked in a layup that pushed the Acorns within four. Kevin Patel answered with a trey, starting a 7-0 run for Lincoln. Gallizioli buried a 3 from the corner to make it 48-40, and Leach and Kevin O’Rourke made back-to-back put-back shots later to keep the deficit at eight.
After a miss by Seifert, Leach grabbed the rebound and followed with a fadeaway hook, shaving Lincoln’s lead to 54-49 with 1:54 remaining.
“I’m just happy his ankle injury wasn’t severe,” Paolucci said. “He’s aggressive. You need Dominic in there defensively to get rebounds.
“I loved the hustle and the way we played. We didn’t give up.”
Live Oak had a chance to make it a one-possession game with a little more than a minute left. The Acorns burned 31 seconds looking for a decent shot but to no avail.
Lincoln scored its final five points from the free-throw line.
“A loss like this hurts your confidence,” Hennings said. “It’s going to help if we can still finish second in this league; it would help for the playoffs.”
To do so, Live Oak has to end its streak of road losses. The Acorns will play four of their remaining games away, starting Wednesday against the San Jose Bulldogs — whom Live Oak beat 54-34 at home Jan. 8.
Paolucci sees it as a winnable game for both sides.
“We haven’t won on the road yet in league, so I do have my concerns,” he said. “The very worst we can do is go 3-3. That would make us eligible for the playoffs. So, from here on out, every game is very important.”
NOTE: Friday’s game was called with 12 seconds left after a fan suffered a seizue. The man, Alfred Rivera, regained conciousness and was carted out of the gym. He was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy.
Sobrato 76, Silver Creek 49
Chris Bradley poured in a season-high 16 points, and Sobrato built a 20-4 scoring edge in the second quarter to beat the visiting Raiders 76-49 Friday.
Winners of nine straight, the Bulldogs (13-5, 8-0) remained a game ahead of Independence in the Santa Teresa Division with six league contests remaining.
Bradley netted all of his points from the field, including four 3-point baskets. His twin brother, Bryan, made three treys on the way to 11 points.
Chijoke Nwuzi scored 21 points to lead Silver Creek (7-10, 2-6), and Derek Colbert netted a dozen.
