Wilkins Ties Game in Regulation; ‘Stangs Win in Overtime
Morgan Hill – Four minutes after Dominik Wilkins carried the weight of an entire game on his shoulders, the Gilroy student body came out of the stands and hoisted the ‘Stangs senior guard onto theirs.
With .2 seconds left in a two-point showdown against Live Oak Tuesday night, Wilkins was fouled when he grabbed a rebound under Gilro’s basket and went up for the last shot. With a packed Live Oak gym cheering against him, the senior made both free throws to tie the game at 50 and force overtime.
Wilkins knew if he made his free throws, overtime would be the easy part.
“The pressure was all relieved,” he said. “I knew we were that type of team, we can do anything in overtime.”
Gilroy didn’t let Wilkins down and made the most of the second opportunity. The Mustangs held the Acorns to a basket during overtime and prevailed 57-52 in a rivalry game that was close and emotionally charged from start to finish. Gilroy improved to 11-6 and Live Oak dropped to 8-9.
Gilroy junior Frankie Tomasetti led with a game and career-high 19 points. Wilkins added 12. Also leading Gilroy were seniors Jeremy Teschera (nine points), Ryan Chisolm (eight points) and Vinny DeLorenzo (six points).
Tuesday night’s thriller was the last time the two schools would face each other in the Live Oak gym as league rivals. Both teams entered the game 1-0 in Tri-County Athletic League play.
“We couldn’t have written an ending to this rivalry better,” said Gilroy head coach Bud Ogden. “From our perspective, we snatched a victory out of their grasp.”
Live Oak tightened its grip on what appeared to be a likely win in the final minute when senior Micah Jones hit a short jumper from the right baseline to put the Acorns up 49-46 with 26 seconds to play.
Ogden called a timeout once the ‘Stangs brought the ball past half court. Tomasetti received the inbounds pass, drove down to the left block and dumped a nice pass off to senior Ryan Chisolm on the opposite block. Chisolm laid the ball in to bring Gilroy to within 49-48.
On the next trip down the floor, Gilroy guard Jeremy Teschera put Live Oak’s Brandon Greene on the free throw line with 14 seconds left. Greene made the front end to give the Acorns a 50-48 edge. Chisolm grabbed the rebound off the miss to help get Gilroy down the floor for a game-winning shot.
Teschera got open for a three from the right side. He missed, but the ‘Stangs came up with the offensive board and kicked it back out to the senior for another attempt. That one fell short and into the hands of Wilkins under the basket. He was fouled as he went up for the shot in the middle of a couple Live Oak defenders.
The Live Oak fan section started celebrating, thinking time had run out before Wilkins was fouled. The senior wasn’t sure if he would be taking a trip to the line either.
“I was confused because one ref signaled that time had expired and the other called a foul, so I wasn’t sure,” Wilkins said.
The refs confirmed the foul did happen before the buzzer. Wilkins headed to the line and made his first free throw, which rattled from side to side before falling through the hoop.
“I was scared (when that happened),” Wilkins said, smiling. “But it went in and that just gave me the confidence to make the second shot.”
In overtime, it was Tomasetti who played the hero.
After the teams traded a handful of turnovers, the junior used his 40-inch vertical to elevate right over defenders and make back-to-back short jumpers from the baseline to put Gilroy up 54-50. It was a deficit the Acorns couldn’t overcome. Tomasetti’s unmatchable athleticism caused Live Oak problems all game long.
“Frankie has improved and improved and improved,” said Ogden of Tomasetti, who is playing his first full season of basketball after playing just part of the JV season as a sophomore.
“I’ve just been playing basketball every day and practicing,” Tomasetti said. “I just play with a lot of confidence in myself and the team.”
Never did more than a handful of points separate the two teams in the contest. They were knotted at 14 after one quarter. Live Oak’s Greene hit a long three at the buzzer to give the Acorns a 24-23 lead at the half. Gilroy led 35-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The dueling Gilroy/Live Oak student sections made the game’s atmosphere inside the Live Oak gym even more intense. On several occasions, the Acorn fans chanted “Just like football!” alluding to Live Oak’s 1-point win in the final TCAL game of the football season in which the Acorns knocked the ‘Stangs out of the running for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci wasn’t surprised to hear the fans still hanging onto the football season.
“It’s a great rivalry and I think next year when we leave the TCAL, I hope it will continue,” he said. “This is so much fun.”
Gilroy 57, Live Oak 52
Gilroy 14 9 12 15 (5) -57
Live Oak 14 10 10 16 (2) -52
Gilroy (11-6 2-0), Live Oak (8-9, 1-1)
