Acorns, Bulldogs play league openers Wednesday
MORGAN HILL — Brett Paolucci admitted he is worried about Wednesday’s 7 p.m. West Valley Division opener at Lincoln.
His Live Oak boys basketball team is not where it needs to be, and the Acorns’ winless record in last week’s Bulldog Chase Tournament — played in front of their home-town crowd no less — and 3-7 finish in nonleague play say it all.
As his players left Sobrato Main Gym after their 66-55 loss to Santa Clara on Tuesday, Paolucci gave them two positives to think over: It’s a new year and a fresh start.
“We’re 0-0 in league. That’s all that matters now,” he said Monday. “Our goal was to be .500 or better going into league, and we’re nowhere near that. But we need to put that behind us. It’s a whole new season.”
Live Oak has flashed its potential, albeit in short spurts. Its starting guards — Michael Schreiber, Cody Gallizioli, Nathan Seifert — have shown they can take over games. Its lead post, 6-foot-3 senior Dominic Leach, can be a force inside; he is averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Its reserves can chip in quality minutes and extend the team’s depth.
All of that has happened this winter but not for four quarters.
“We have to play the whole game,” Paolucci said. “We have to compete our hardest the whole way through.”
Should they do so, the Acorns may give last year’s division runner-up all it can handle Wednesday. Lincoln (8-2 overall) is led by guards Rich Azure (13.8 points per game) and Matt Thompson (12.9), whom Live Oak’s frontcourt matches up well with.
“I think we’re going to stack up very good against every team in league,” Paolucci said. “But, again, it all comes back to playing four quarters.”
Sobrato coach Lee Washington shared the same mantra for his Bulldogs, who begin their Santa Teresa Division campaign at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Silver Creek, fresh off of scattering three strong performances in the Bulldog Chase.
A day after blowing a 12-point lead and losing 64-56 to Gilroy, Sobrato (5-5) thrashed Damonte Ranch by score of 61-37 to end the tournament.
“After that loss, the guys knew that, basically, the moment was there, but we lost focus,” Washington said. “We had some tough competition in that tournament, but we need to play four quarters every night.”
In essence, the Bulldogs are returning to the scene of a crime Wednesday. The 2009 Santa Teresa title was in their hands until the last game of the regular season, when visiting Independence beat them 55-48 to steal a share of the crown.
Sobrato bowed out in the first round of the Division II section playoffs four days later.
“I think everyone on our team is ready for our mission,” said Washington, now in his first year as varsity coach. “I feel good about where their mind set is. We fought through injury this preseason. … We finally have everything here. Everyone’s healthy.”
That includes the Bulldogs’ three leading scorers from a year ago: Ryan Williams and Chris and Bryan Bradley.
