Live Oak doomed by foul trouble in 68-63 loss to Branham
MORGAN HILL — Live Oak became its own worst enemy in Wednesday’s Blossom Valley Athletic League-West Valley Division opener.
The Acorns delivered one of their best efforts this season, but ended up gift-wrapping a 68-63 victory for visiting Branham.
The Bruins (3-9 overall, 1-0 BVAL) scored more than half of their points from the free-throw line, making 34 trips. They pulled down an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 44 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
“You have to give credit to Branham. Some of the players that weren’t being scouted for this game stepped up for them,” Live Oak coach Vince Pacheco said Thursday. “But a lot of that win came from free throws. If you take that out of the equation, maybe not all but half of it, we win, no doubt.”
Live Oak (4-8, 0-1) got 20 points apiece from guard Michael Schreiber and Cody Gallizioli and seven points from Shane Herber.
The Acorns lost David Beckum, Schreiber and Herber to fouls down the stretch, but managed a late rally with solid bench support. After trailing by as many as 10 in the second half, they pulled even 60-60 with two minutes left.
“Credit to my second team,” Pacheco said. “They got us back into it. But then Branham hit a big basket.”
Nick Morehead scored a team-high 15 points for the Bruins, who led 36-28 at halftime.
“Our guys were mad at themselves for not getting it done,” Pacheco added. “They knew they made mistakes and committed some stupid fouls.
“Our goal is to win league. This was a step back, but we’re going to learn from it. I still like our chances.”
