Bob Hagen Tourney: Oakwood emerges on top after OT thirller with Live Oak

Live Oak and Oakwood made sure they kicked off the Bob Hagen Tournament with a game to remember.
The two teams needed an extra period to settle things, with the Hawks edging out the Acorns 58-55 despite Live Oak having three looks at tying or taking the lead.
Youseff Eshra hit a three to put Oakwood up by three with 39 seconds left. He also hit a free throw along with Jonathan Angulo to clinch the game.
Live Oak had two looks at 3s to first with a chance to take a lead and later to tie the game.
“I thought we were very lucky,” said Oakwood Kort Jensen.
Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci said he was frustrated at the end of the game, but said is boys played very well and simply lost to a better team.
“I told them to walk out of the locker room with their heads up high and have respect for themselves,” Paolucci said. “They played one heck of a team and played one heck of a game.”
The wild series was set up in the third quarter.
Luke Laguna put the Acorns on his back with a pair of 3s and 10 points in the quarter to give Live Oak their first lead of the game.
Oakwood held a 24-20 half time lead and held a 26-22 lead early in the third quarter. That’s when Laguna hit his first 3-pointer to pull the Acorns to within one and Tanner Howard tied the game with a free throw a short time later.
Eshra hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead, but Laguna responded with his second shot from beyond the ark.
Both sides went back and forth until Live Oak held a 38-36 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Around that time, Laguna took over responsibility of covering Eshra and held him to five points in the fourth quarter.
The only reason why that was five was because Justin Mortensen set a screen behind the 3-point line to give Eshra an open look at the basket.
That 3-pointer gave Oakwood a one-point lead at the end of the quarter. A Ben Millward free throw made it a two-point game when Justin Baker sank a basket to tie the game and force OT.
Oakwood nearly stole the game with one second left when Ryan Rupp picked Eshra’s pocket and forced the ball out of bounds. The inbound turned into a scrum and time ran out.
In the overtime period, Millward hit a jumper to start things off and Mortensen had a pair of free throws for the team’s first four points.
Live Oak, meanwhile, had field goals from Laguna and Baker to take a one point lead at 54-53.
That’s when Eshra hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play.
Live Oak was forced into a foul game and couldn’t sink the key bucket to extend the game.
Freshman point guard Eshra led all shooters with 28 points and added seven steals. Angulo followed with 12 points and five rebounds.
Mortensen led both teams with 10 rebounds.
For Live Oak, Laguna finished with 14 points.
Carvalho and Baker each had 13 points. Baker had eight rebounds to lead the Acorns, tied with Howard. Carvalho added seven of his own.
Both sides saw little things that could have altered the game considerably.
For Oakwood, a lack of sleep the night before may have led to lower percentage shooting. The team held a sleep over at the school and several of the players didn’t sleep much that night.
For Live Oak, any one of seven missed free throws could have changed the outcome of the game in regulation. On top of that, 20 turnovers proved detrimental.
Many of Eshra’s steels led to fast-break points, including two quick buckets in the third quarter as the result of a turnover.
“Turnovers, bad decisions and decisions we made kept them in the game,” Paolucci said.
Live Oak will next play Anzar in the consolation bracket 3:30 p.m. Friday. Oakwood will take on Gilroy in the winner’s bracket 6:30 p.m. Friday.