Both hoops teams at Live Oak High School had strong seasons. For the girls, it was the fourth straight excellent year. For the boys, it was the culmination of a climb during the past two years that has rocketed them up from sub-.500 play to break-even to far above.
The girls finished 17-8, 7-3 in Blossom Valley Athletic League, Almaden Valley Division action. Led by a balanced inside-outside mix, pressure defense and hoops talent with Amelya Forbis, Aleenah Garcia and others, they came in second in league, following up on three first-place finishes. In each year, they advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs, with a cumulative record through that span of 76-29, 41-5 in league play.
The boys team had been under water. In 2024-25, they improved to 11-14 overall, 5-5 in league play and reached the CCS playoffs. In the just-concluded season, even with a young team after significant graduation departures, Live Oak finished 18-8, 7-3 in league play.
The squad was led by guards Nathan Lozano and Sam Ellingson and a deep and young front court. In the CCS playoffs, they won their CCS opener over Aptos before falling in the second round to Soquel.
Young girls team racks up wins
Significant graduation losses tempered the outlook for this year’s Acorns team. A new crew jelled during the season, racked up wins right and left, finished in second in league play and advanced to the CCS playoffs.
“It’s a hard load,” coach Mike Kiefer said. “Everyone wants to knock us off because we won the league the last three years.”
Garcia led the backcourt, Forbis was solid at the swingman guard/forward position and major development came from two young stars-to-be in Adia Seider and Leslie Cerles. Important contributions came from Phoebe de Palma, Laila Salinas and Sophia Buenrostro. Depth help came from Caroline Nevin, Alyssa Oakley, Kali Leaman and Mariposa Serrano.
The offense was balanced. Garcia led with 8.7 points per game, with Cerles at 8.6 and Forbis at 8.1. Cerles led in rebounding at 6.6 per game, with Seider at 5.5. Garcia, Forbis Buenrostro and Serrano all pulled down between 2.8 and 3.7 rebounds per game. Garcia led in assists at 3.2 per game.
Team defense was a Live Oak staple. Garcia pilfered 4.4 per game and Forbis stole 3.4 per contest. Buenrostro, De Palma and Cerles each had between 2.2 and 2.6 steals per game.
“I’m super proud of the group this season,” Forbis said at mid-season. “We were not expected to be in the running for first place. It’s exciting.”
Two five-point defeats basically put the Acorns down into second place, which was still an impressive finish. Six of the seven league victories were by 20 points or more, with five by 30 or more points.
Del Mar captured the league title with a 10-0 mark. Live Oak was 7-3, with Lincoln back at 6-4, Gilroy at 4-6, Hill at 3-7 and Oak Grove in the cellar at 0-10. The Acorns’ hallmark was fierce defense, highlighted by a panic-inducing full court press.
“We press all game long,” Kiefer said. “We play all 84 feet for 32 minutes.”
Live Oak allowed just 195 points in 10 league games, an average of just 19.5. That was the best in the league by far.
“We’re faster than most teams,” Forbis said. “We play man-to-man and deny the pass. We can play zone.”
An early surge to the season brought big victories. Wins came over Seaside 60-14, Gunderson 40-23, Mt. Pleasant 58-12 and Yerba Buena 47-13. Forbis scored 16 against YB, Seider and Cerles both had 15 versus Seaside and Cerles tallied 19 against Mt. Pleasant.
After a one-point double-overtime loss to Saratoga, the Acorns got back on the winning track. A four-game win streak included victories over Independence 51-29, Monte Vista Christian 51-22, Overfelt 42-26 and Santa Clara 49-25.
Tougher competition came in the last few weeks before league play. In that span, LO defeated North Salinas 37-18 and Carmel 34-29. Garcia scored 14 in a loss to Christopher and 16 versus Notre Dame.
Live Oak began league play with four one-sided wins. The Acorns traveled north and ripped Hill 49-17, shut down Oak Grove 39-8 at home with Garcia scoring 19, smashed Gilroy 38-17 up the road and demolished Lincoln 45-11, with Cerles putting in 21 against the Lions.
On Jan. 28, Live Oak lost to feisty rival Del Mar 35-30. Forbis and Cerles each scored nine, but Del Mar’s strong first half was too much.
“We dug a hole that was pretty deep to get out of,” coach Kiefer said. “We came out flat but in the second half, we finally started getting the looks we wanted. In the second half, we played our game.”
A bump in the road followed in a 36-31 upset loss to Hill. The Acorns regrouped and smashed Oak Grove 39-9 and Gilroy 49-8 and then fought off Lincoln 30-24. The regular season finale was a 30-23 loss at Del Mar.
Live Oak received a bid to the CCS Division III playoffs. On Feb. 21, they faced North Monterey County and lost 34-30. It marked the end of a season, one in which they exceeded expectations and continued their winning tradition for a fourth year. With many pieces of the rotation returning, the Acorns will be looking to continue their success next year.
Boys step into the post-season
Last year’s Live Oak boys team reached a milestone with a CCS Division III playoff berth and solid league play. Eleven seniors departed but this squad took a huge step forward. The Acorns were 7-3 in league play, finished the regular season at 17-7, and went two rounds in the post-season.
“It all comes with the really good chemistry we have on and off the court,” Lozano said.
In the Feb. 21 playoff opener, Live Oak took over in the second half for a 58-48 victory against Aptos.
Lozano scored 22 points, freshman Levi Yee added 13, junior Leo Francke had 11 points and seven rebounds, sophomore Clayton Clement contributed 10 rebounds and Ellingson had six assists.
Three days later, the No. 8 seeded Acorns visited top-seeded Soquel. Yee scored 11 and Ellingson tallied 10 but the Knights were too strong and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 62-43 decision.
The campaign marked another major step forward for the program and the returning underclassmen provide great hope for the future.
