Although coach Brett Paolucci said his boys basketball team battled, Live Oak could not stop Prospect and lost 52-34 Tuesday in the Westmont Invitational Tournament.
“We played hard against a Mount Hamilton (Division) team,” Paolucci said. “It’s only the first game. There is still time to improve.”
The Acorns went against a team that lost two games in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division and finished with a 20-8 overall record and Central Coast Section playoff berth last season.
With the win, the Panthers, who moved up to the Mount Hamilton this season, improved to 3-0.
“They are very athletic,” Paolucci said. “They didn’t have very much height – all the guys were pretty even in height. They just took care of the ball and made their outside shots.”
Leading the way for the Acorns (0-1) was senior guard Jeff Mounteer, who collected 15 points. Julliard Robinson added five points for Live Oak.
Prospect’s Zach Stevenson led all scores with 22 points, including three from beyond the arc.
Paolucci said his guards did well in the game, and had plenty of looks, but said there were a few areas he would like to see improve.
“One thing I was pleased about was that we were able to run our offense,” Paolucci said. “But we could do a better job getting the ball to our post guys on the inside.”
Paolucci said with so many shot opportunities, the game could easily have been closer.
“We had a lot of good looks … I was enthused about that,” Paolucci said.
After the first quarter, the Acorns trailed by three. But by the end of the first half, the deficit was increased to 13 with Prospect up 28-15. Live Oak had a slightly better second half, scoring 19 points.
But the Vikings were able to pull away with 24 second-half points to win by 18.
Live Oak continued play in the tournament against Lincoln on Thursday. Results were unavailable as of presstime.
