It was the kind of shot that can unnerve all but the most
determined of shooters. It came with just seconds left in a
miserable first half and summed up the Live Oak High boys
basketball team
’s struggles to that point.
It was the kind of shot that can unnerve all but the most determined of shooters. It came with just seconds left in a miserable first half and summed up the Live Oak High boys basketball team’s struggles to that point.
But even though Acorn senior guard Joel Wright swiped the air in disgust as his open 3-point shot bounced inside the rim and out, it was anger and not uncertainty that clouded his features.
Despite the miss, and several other ones in the first half, Wright didn’t hesitate to keep shooting his patented rainbow 3-pointer in the second half. And, hit them.
Wright scored 12 of his team-high 14 points — on four treys — in the second half to lead Live Oak to a 48-36 comeback victory over visiting Hollister-San Benito in both teams’ Tri-County Athletic League opener on Thursday night.
“Shooters always keep shooting their way out of a funk and that’s what I did,” Wright said. “And, the shots started falling.”
Acorn coach Brett Paolucci said he spent most of his halftime pep talk making sure his team hadn’t lost confidence in its shooting after an ice-cold first half. But he said he didn’t have to convince Wright.
“I thought our shot selection was really good in the first half — they just weren’t going in,” Paolucci said. “(Joel) was frustrated in the first half but shooters have to keep shooting and that’s what he did.”
With a lid securely fastened on its bucket in the first half, Live Oak (14-2 overall, 1-0 in league) fell behind 17-8 midway through the second quarter, as the Balers (11-6 overall, 0-1 in league) methodically ran its offense and crashed the offensive glass for second and third shots with its towering front line of center Anthony Butler, and forwards Kyle Sharp and Kevin Zanella.
But the Acorns outscored Hollister 8-2 over a three-minute span to pull within three points at 19-16 on senior forward Steve Conner’s putback basket with 55 seconds left in the half.
Hollister capped the half with two free throws by their scoring sensation, Sharp, for a 21-16 lead before Wright’s last-second attempt richocheted out.
Besides reassuring his players that the ball would still go in the hoop, Paolucci reminded the Acorns that they had come back before, very recently in fact.
“As a team, Coach said this was just like Monterey (the non-league finale a week earlier) when we came back and won,” Wright said, “and (he said) we could come back and win this one, too.”
In the second half, Live Oak ratcheted up its defense, cut down the Balers’ second-shot opport-unities and, perhaps most important of all, began to make shots.
Bolstered by a pair of Wright 3s, Live Oak pulled into a 30-all tie by the end of the third quarter.
And, the Acorns pulled ahead to stay courtesy of another rally, again spurred by two Wright treys — the final one giving Live Oak a 43-36 lead with just 1:37 to play.
Paolucci said the first league game was a great one to win. “Every league game is big,” he said. “But it was real important to get a win in the first one.”
Live Oak’s defense held the high-scoring Sharp to just 12 points, eight under his average. Butler led the Balers with 13 points.
Senior swingman Braden Goodere added 12 for Live Oak, including all six of his team’s first-quarter points.
Live Oak is next scheduled to play at North Salinas on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Note: In the JV game, Live Oak’s Eric Mutz hit a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to tie the score at 58-all, and the Acorns beat Hollister 64-63 in overtime.
