The Live Oak boys basketball team’s fourth-quarter comeback came
up just short Friday as the Acorns lost to Overfelt 36-32.
Morgan Hill – The Live Oak boys basketball team’s fourth-quarter comeback
came up just short Friday as the Acorns lost to Overfelt 36-32.
Live Oak came alive in the final quarter of the game after trailing for most
of the game. But the Acorns’ magic ran out as the Royals hit free throws to
put the game out of reach with time running out.
“I think we played hard,” said Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci. “I think we
played well enough to win.”
The Royals were coming off a 33-29 loss against Sobrato and were 2-4 in
their last six games. Live Oak, which has been much improved lately, fell to
3-16 overall, 2-6 in league.
It was a far different result from the first time the teams met, when
Overfelt prevailed 64-25.
It took two minutes for both teams to find the scoreboard in the first
quarter of Friday’s game. The Royals and Acorns looked out of sync early in
the game and were rushing passes.
After each team found its rhythm, the scoring went back and forth with the
Acorns and Royals trading free throws and 3-point shots. At the end of the
opening quarter, Overfelt was up 10-8.
The second quarter started off sloppy, but became a defensive battle between the teams. Players from both schools hustled and created turnovers.
Neither team scored until four minutes into the quarter.
Sophomore center Alika Bantilan scored the Acorns’ lone two points in the
quarter off free throws. Live Oak trailed 14-10 at halftime.
Paolucci said he knew that Overfelt had struggled offensively in its last
two games, so he wanted the Acorns to play more aggressively on defense.
“We don’t match up with their athleticism very well,” he said. “We tried to
slow them down a little and take some time off the shot clock. I think we
did a really good job at stopping their transition offense.”
Live Oak outscored Overfelt 9-8 in the third quarter but still found itself
down 22-19.
The Acorns came out firing and moving the ball well in the final quarter.
With time running out and down by four, Live Oak was forced to foul to stop
the clock. The Acorns came close, but just couldn’t make enough shots to
complete the comeback.
Free throws in the winding seconds of the game secured the victory for the Royals.
Paolucci said he was proud of the way his team bounced back in the fourth
after being down for most of the game.
“We didn’t give up,” Paolucci said. “We were down by 10 twice, and theywere able to make it a game.”
After the game, Bantilan said the team stayed motivated in the fourth
quarter with a never-give-up mentality.
“We just had to keep going and couldn’t let them back in,” Bantilan said.
The Acorns have a tough league test today when they host Willow Glen (15 5, 7-1).
