The Live Oak basketball team breathed deep before Tuesday
’s 72-64 win against Monterey and then let a big sigh of relief
out after.
The Live Oak basketball team breathed deep before Tuesday’s 72-64 win against Monterey and then let a big sigh of relief out after.
Assistant coach Brian Seva decided to try out a little good old-fashioned meditation that his sport phycology teacher used on his class before a test.
“I’ve been waiting for the right moment to use it on them. I didn’t want to waist it,” Seva said. “Maybe we should have done it again at the half because it kind of wore off.”
Live Oak dominated in the first half thanks to a 21-8 second quarter and held a 17-point lead at the half. It almost slipped away.
“We were bailing them out tonight,” said Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci. “We tried to get stops. We allowed them to get the ball, and we fouled. We can’t do that. We have to be more aggressive.”
The first half featured some nifty ball movement by guards Steve Conner and Joel Wright. Both had a couple steals that led to baskets.
Conner was able to drive the lane and then tossed back to Miles Curley. Curley followed with another basket right after to give the Acorns a 13-9 lead and force Monterey to call a timeout midway through the first quarter.
Conner, who scored all 13 of his points in the first half, finished a behind-the-back pass from Cuthbert Wong with three minutes left in the second half that gave the Acorns a 37-18 lead.
“He’s coming on great after a slow start after football,” said Paolucci of Conner. “He’s a gamer. Very intense and very much into the game. He is willing to learn. He wants to contribute, and he is. It adds more depth for us because David Chappell is playing well too.”
At the end of the first quarter, Curley hauled in a long hard pass from David Chappell (seven points and was 5-for-6 from the line) and finished it with a left-hand lay-in.
Scott Moquin was also a big part in the Live Oak win with his physical play that gave him eight points.
“I thought the kid that really did the job for them was No. 32 (Moquin),” said Monterey coach Wash Stallworth. “32 was the guy that was doing the sealing. He was really throwing his weight.”
Stallworth said he was also impressed by Miles Curley, who had a season high and possibly a career high of 30 points.
“They (Moquin and Curley) really solidify that front line because they know how to play down there,” Stallworth said. “It is hard taking two guys away.”
“He was all over the place,” Paolucci said of Curley, who can play guard and forward. “He gets a lot of points on offense rebounds. He crashed the boards very well. As soon as he gets that ball, he keeps it high and goes right back up. He is aggressive and does not shy away from the basket. Those are hustle points.”
“That is why Miles is one of our top guys,” Paolucci added. “The team feeds off that a little bit. They see how hard he goes and what he contributes. He leads by example with his work ethic.”
In the second half, Monterey was able to work the ball in more and get off better crafted shots instead of the quick one-timers the team was forced to make in the first quarter.
“We just upped the pressure a little bit,” Stallworth said. “We tried to take a few things away from them. But it is such a good team that it is very hard to take anything away.”
“I felt they didn’t have a deep bench,” Stallworth said. “If they had to use players they are not used to playing, we could get back in the game. We just started going after their big guy (Maciek Bratowski), but they ended up going after us.”
Live Oak was able to frustrate Monterey’s 6-foot-7 center, Yusef Smith, and limit him to13 points on the night.
“We knew what their press was,” Paolucci said. “We worked on it for a good amount of time in practice. We wanted to attack their big guy and get him in foul trouble, which we did.”
The game, which looked as if it would be a blowout after the first half, was actually decided by free throws after Monterey made a strong run of its own in the second half. Monterey went 18-for-38 from the line, and Live Oak shot 26-for-36.
Maybe Monterey’s 47 percent free throw shooting could be attributed to the hideous looking and even more hideously sounding accordion that a Live Oak fan tried to play.
“We got to be more aggressive – one shot and if they miss it’s our ball,” Paolucci said.
A 14-9 third quarter put Monterey right back in the game. Monterey gained some momentum heading down the stretch as several quick Live Oak pull-up jumpers fell short.
After Maciek Bratkowski fouled out with 3:15 left in the game, Monterey got within nine points.
And then Monterey got within 68-61 on a three-point goal with 55 seconds left in the game. Live Oak hit six free throws in the last 1:03 of the game.
Chappell, who did a good job drawing the fouls with his drives to the hoop, came up with a big block on a potential three with Live Oak up 70-61 with 25 second left in the game. Monterey’s most balanced player Erick Jamerson, who led the Toreadors with 21 points, hit a three-pointer as time ran out, but it wasn’t enough.
“I praised the guys after the game because they didn’t lose their cool,” Paolucci said. “It is very easy to get into a panic mode, and you want to try to do too much. You try to win the game when you have a comfortable 12-point lead with just that one shot. And that one shot is not what we really want.”
Live Oak should be success when league starts, Stallworth said.
“This team is going to win their division whoever they play against over here,” Stallworth said. “We played Hollister, and I really feel Hollister is not in these guys class. These guys play clean, and they are really good.”
There are 11 days between games before the Tri-County Athletic League schedule opens at Hollister Jan. 18.
“I don’t think it is going to bother us at all,” said Paolucci of the time lag. “We just have to try to get better every day. They’re pretty jazzed about playing Hollister again, and I’m sure they are jazzed about playing us again. We know what is ahead of us. We’re not going to rest too much.”
Both Live Oak and Hollister both have 14-2 preseason records. Live Oak is ranked 13th in CCS; whereas, Hollister is ranked 5th in CCS. Hollister recently won the North Salinas tournament against some tough teams. But Live Oak beat Hollister head-to-head in the Bob Hagen Tournament.
“I am very proud of that record for preseason,” Paolucci said. “This was a playoff caliber team. Monterey is going to go far and is going to do really well in their division. Now we are going to continue to work hard to try to carry this (momentum) into league.”
MONTEREY 15 8 14 27-64
LIVE OAK 19 21 9 23-72
Monterey (8-5): Jones 1 0-0 3, Demayo 2 1 6, Miller 2 2 6, Jacobs 1 3 5, Belisle 3 2 8, Smith 4 5 13, Jamerson 8 3 21. Totals 21 18-38 64.
Live Oak (14-2): Connor 6 1 13, Wright 1 4 6, Curley 10 10 30, Chappell 1 5-6 7, Moquin 2 4 8, Deem 1 0 2, Bratkowski 2 2 6. Totals 23 26-36 72
Three-point goals: Jones (M), Demayo (M), Jamerson (M) 2.
JV Notes:
The Live Oak JV team is also off to a hot start to the season. The team is 12-1 after receiving its first loss of the year against Monterey.
“We didn’t come to play,” said coach Dean Davis.
The squad won both the Bob Hagen tournament and then won the Watsonville tournament the following week. In the Watsonville tournament, Live Oak beat Alisal in the semifinals 65-64 on a buzzer beater by Braden Goodere, the team’s only junior. And in the final game, Live Oak beat Gilroy.
Guard Doug Porras, the Acorns’ scoring leader, was named tournament MVP in both of the tournaments. Brandon Powell is also a big contributer with his hustle and defensive play.
“I would expect us to win league,” Davis said. “But we have good competition. We are playing together as a team, but we still need to come together as far as continuity.”
