The Live Oak Acorns completed an impressive run through the
second half of West Valley Division play with a 56-53 victory at
Del Mar on Friday for their fifth win in six games. Now they must
sit pat until Feb. 19, when the Central Coast Section boys
basketball playoffs are announced.
Let the wait begin.
The Live Oak Acorns completed an impressive run through the second half of West Valley Division play with a 56-53 victory at Del Mar on Friday for their fifth win in six games.
Now they must sit pat until the Central Coast Section boys basketball playoffs are announced Sunday. The Acorns stand a decent chance at their first postseason berth since 2006, but will their record (12-12, 9-5) be enough?
Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci has kept track of other bubble teams, such as St. Ignatius, San Mateo, Valley Christian and Prospect. He can’t say with confidence whether or not the Acorns will get in.
“I’m staring at a computer screen, looking at all the points teams have, and I’m not sure what I’m looking at,” Paolucci has said. “There’s so much that goes into making the playoffs. You just have to hope for the best.”
League tournaments still have to play out next week, which could hurt the Acorns. The Blossom Valley Athletic League Tournament runs Tuesday through Feb. 17.
“Those are games we can’t play in, but other teams are,” Paolucci said.
The Acorns tied for third in the West Valley Division, their best finish since 2006 when they were in the Tri-County Athletic League.
They shot past the pesky Del Mar Dons (5-18, 0-10) behind a big night by Austin Carvalho, who had 14 points in 5-of-7 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. Eddie Plascencia (7 for 8) added 14 points and nine rebounds; Nathaniel Batey netted 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Jakob Conlan chipped in five assists in what could have been those four seniors’ last game with Live Oak.
Sophomore Luke Laguna made four shots from beyond the arc on the way to a dozen points for the Acorns, who shot 53 percent from the field.
Live Oak overcame a 26-21 halftime deficit.
- Sobrato lost its season finale, 55-38, at Leland on Friday in Mount Hamilton Division play.
Senior center Ben Vater had 12 points and four rebounds, and senior guard Travis Saenz had four and seven to lead the Bulldogs.
Alex Minagawa added nine points for Sobrato, which finished 2-22, 1-13 under third-year coach Lee Washington.
The Bulldogs will likely return to the Santa Teresa Division next season.
Girls soccer
Megan Rauschnot scored her sixth goal of the season in the second half Friday to lift Live Oak to a 1-0 victory over Leland.
Jada Williams and Carly Kyle had assists, as the Acorns earned their first win in four games.
Live Oak (11-5-2, 6-5-1) is third in the Mount Hamilton Division, two games out of second, entering the final week of the regular season. The Acorns will visit Del Mar on Wednesday and host Branham on Feb. 17.
- Sobrato lost 1-0 on a penalty kick in the second half Friday at Del Mar.
The Bulldogs (4-10-4, 2-8-2) play their final games at Willow Glen on Wednesday and against visiting Leland on Friday.
