Their 59-44 win over Mount Pleasant moves them a game within
first
MORGAN HILL — Because almost half the league is now tied for second place, and because 4-3 sounds a lot better than 3-4, Wednesday’s 59-44 victory over Mount Pleasant was paramount for Live Oak.
You don’t always get a fresh start in the middle of a boys basketball season, but the Acorns have the next best thing. They dragged the visiting Cardinals into a tie with them and Lincoln for second place behind West Valley Division front-runners Branham and Lick, who have two league losses apiece, with seven games remaining.
“I’ve been stressing how important it was to get last night’s win and finish the first half of league strong at 4-3,” Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci said Thursday. “We’re a game out of first, so anything’s still possible for us.”
The Acorns (7-10 overall, 4-3 league) have their Big Four to thank. Seniors Dominic Leach, Nathan Seifert, Michael Schreiber and Cody Gallizioli led Live Oak in scoring for the third straight game with 16, 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“The guys who have impressed me the most so far in league have been those guys,” Paolucci said. “They’re accepting their roles. It’s not about one guy; they’re all putting up good numbers. They understand it’s going to be the responsibility of all four to set the tone offensively and defensively.”
Paolucci was impressed by his team’s play at both ends of the court. Live Oak cut down on offensive rebounds allowed and came up with 11 steals. Leach had two to go with five rebounds, and Seifert had three steals. Gallizioli pulled down six rebounds, and Schreiber had five.
The Acorns led 35-23 at halftime.
“We played a complete game,” said Paolucci, whose team outscored Mount Pleasant in each period. “We played very good for four quarters — that’s what we need to keep doing from here on out.”
Chris Lopez scored 15 points, and Djovan Surgick finished with 14 for the Cardinals (8-9, 4-3).
Live Oak, which hosts Lincoln at 7 p.m. today, likely has to win five more games to have a decent shot of making sectionals at .500. The Acorns can always just take the division — it would be their first league championship in more than 20 years — but that would require them to win on the road, which they failed to do during the first half of league.
“If you want to make the playoffs, you’ve got to win on the road,” Paolucci said. “We better learn how to do that.”
SHS 80, Hill 37
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures Tuesday as Sobrato trounced visiting Hill to complete an impressive 7-0 run through the first half of Santa Teresa Division play.
The Bulldogs (12-5 overall) have won eight in a row for the first time since the 2006-07 season, when they reeled off 11 straight. Evergreen Valley is the only Santa Teresa club that has not lost to Sobrato by 10 or more points.
The Falcons (2-13, 0-6) have dropped five straight.
Ryan Williams made three 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 20 points, Pierre Hemphill and Chris Bradley scored 11 apiece, and George Baraona finished with 10 for the Bulldogs, who led 49-23 at halftime.
Sobrato holds a one-game edge over Independence.
