Down by eight points at the half on the road against a team with
momentum on its side, the Live Oak High boys basketball team should
have been in trouble.
Down by eight points at the half on the road against a team with momentum on its side, the Live Oak High boys basketball team should have been in trouble.
But a determined second-half rally, keyed by tough defense and a flurry of 3-pointers, secured a 63-53 victory for the Acorns over host Santa Teresa in non-league action on Tuesday.
It was looking pretty bleak at the half,” Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci said. “(Santa Teresa) had a lot of momentum going into the second half. But the defense battled back and we really clamped down on them in the second half.”
And, the Acorns were hot from long-range, sinking eight 3-pointers in the game including six in the second half.
“I don’t remember the last time we had eight 3s,” Paolucci said. “We had a lot of open 3s.”
Live Oak, which improved to 2-0 on the season with the win, was scheduled to play at Gunderson on Thursday night and will begin play in Los Gatos High’s Wildcat Shoot-Out tournament next week.
Live Oak was originally scheduled to play in the Overfelt Tournament this week, but it was cancelled.
On Tuesday, the Acorns were led by senior guard Jeff Yeung, who scored a career-high 18 points including two 3s.
Yeung also harried Santa Teresa’s point guard all over the floor, disrupting the opposition’s offense, Paolucci said.
“He was our main defensive catalyst,” Paolucci said. “He made (the Santa Teresa point guard) made him really work to bring up the ball. (Jeff) thrives on the defensive end and he stresses his defense but it’s nice to see his offense come around.”
Live Oak junior forward Matt Van Kuelan added 17 points, including three 3s, and continued his fine play in relief of the injured Brandon Powell.
Acorn senior point guard Joel Wright added 11 points, including two 3s.
Paolucci also had praise for the defensive efforts of Wright and senior power forward Steve Conner.
Bothered by Santa Teresa’s defensive pressure in the first half, Live Oak trailed 31-23 at halftime.
And, the Acorns still trailed by four points after three quarters before the fourth-quarter rally that secured the victory for Live Oak.
