Normally, a 48-39 win is not a nail-biter, but the Live Oak High
boys basketball team turned their victory over Willow Glen in the
Consolation Finals of the Wildcat Shoot-Out at Los Gatos High on
Saturday into one. Thanks to a 16-3 run in the fourth quarter, the
Acorns came from behind to steal one away from the Rams who seemed
to decide they didn
’t want to score any more points late in the game. It was the
second straight consolation title at the tourney for the LO boys
basketball program.
Normally, a 48-39 win is not a nail-biter, but the Live Oak High boys basketball team turned their victory over Willow Glen in the Consolation Finals of the Wildcat Shoot-Out at Los Gatos High on Saturday into one.
Thanks to a 16-3 run in the fourth quarter, the Acorns came from behind to steal one away from the Rams who seemed to decide they didn’t want to score any more points late in the game.
It was the second straight consolation title at the tourney for the LO boys basketball program.
Everything went right for Live Oak in the final quarter. For seven-and-a-half minutes, the Acorns forced turnovers, stole rebounds and scored points.
For seven-and-a-half minutes, Live Oak made Willow Glen look sloppy: The Rams scored their first points of the quarter with 3:23 left to play and didn’t score again for another three minutes.
By the time Willow Glen recovered from the shock, the game was no longer in doubt.
The comeback started in the third quarter when Live Oak went on a 10-3 run to take a 28-26 lead. But the Rams answered with a quick six points to take a 32-28 lead with less than four minutes to play in the third and led at the end of the period before LO began its big comeback.
When the game started, the only thing working for Live Oak was its defense. The boys kept constant pressure on the Rams, forcing four turnovers.
But the Acorn offense couldn’t get it done and Live Oak trailed 12-10 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the sluggish LO offense began to affect the defense. The Rams held the Acorns to eight points while increasing their lead to 23-18.
Acorn coach Brett Paolucci said the offensive troubles rubbed off on the defensive effort.
“At halftime, I told them they can’t keep doing that,” Paolucci said. “I said they have to play solid defense. We were able to step up our defense (in the second half).”
Paolucci credited the team’s comeback in large part to reserves Lee Bell, Brandon Greene and Bobby Long, who he said were able to step in when the starters were struggling.
“They kept us in the game,” Paolucci said. “They could take care of the little things. They really stepped up.”
Senior center Kevin Toombs scored a team-high 17 points along with seven rebounds. Senior forward Matt van Keulen was the only other Acorn in double digits in scoring with 11 points.
Live Oak begins play in Gilroy High’s Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament against North Monterey County on Thursday at 3:30pm.
LO girls basketball
Despite falling 48-37 to South San Francisco in the Consolation Final of the Monta Vista Tournament on Saturday, Live Oak High girls basketball coach Jeff Perkins said he was happy with his team’s performance in the Cupertino tourney.
“This was a good tournament for us,” Perkins said. “Most of the girls got playing time and they all benefited from it. We had that one game where we found our offense and that was exciting.”
LO advanced to the Consolational Final by beating Pioneer 58-49 on Friday.
In Saturday’s game, LO’s Amanda Lytle and Megan Gulla led the way with seven points each, and nine different Acorns scored in the contest.
The Acorns host Los Gatos on Wednesday and Evergreen on Friday at LO this week. Both games are scheduled for 7pm.
LO boys soccer
If defense wins championships, watch out for the Live Oak High boys soccer team. On Monday, the Acorn boys fashioned their fourth straight shutout victory, a 4-0 win at Alvarez. LO (5-0-2) has outscored its last four opponents 19-0. Against Alvarez, LO’s Brian Place, Garrett Frechette, Anthony Razouk and Casey Mott all found the back of the net.
LO plays in the Homestead Christmas Cup semifinals on Saturday.
