The Live Oak Acorns boys basketball is getting a much needed
rest this week after wrapping up the 26th annual Bob Hagan Memorial
Tournament with a win over Alvarez 62-44 in Gilroy on Saturday.
By Leann Shea, Staff Writer
Gilroy – The Live Oak Acorns boys basketball is getting a much needed rest this week after wrapping up the 26th annual Bob Hagan Memorial Tournament with a win over Alvarez 62-44 in Gilroy on Saturday.
The Acorns went 2-1 in the tournament and earned the consolation championship trophy following their victory over the scrappy Eagles team.
“Alvarez played a heck of a game,” said Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci. “They made a game of it. Overall I’m happy with how we played in the tournament, we played hard.”
Senior guard Micah Jones led the way for the Acorns, recording a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Forward Dustin Bynum contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the win, while teammate Alex Torshizi added eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
Alvarez matched up well with the Acorns through the first two quarters of play and didn’t allow Live Oak to put the score out of reach despite a poor shooting effort from the floor.
The Acorns dominated the Eagles on the boards pulling 42 rebounds in the game. Live Oak’s senior forward Bobby Long brought in seven rebounds and added five points.
Uriel Salazar kept the Eagles within striking distance, cutting the Acorns’ led to 29-22 headed into halftime. Salazar had 23 points in the game, including three 3-pointers.
Live Oak began to find its rythym and started to pull away in the third quarter scoring 14 points while holding Alvarez to seven points. Senior Brandon Greene pulled in three rebounds, while dishing out six assists and scoring seven points in the win. Eric Mutz was perfect from the line for the Acorns, hitting four of four free throws and one 3-pointer to finish with seven points, five assists and three rebounds.
The Acorns return to action this Friday against Santa Teresa and are looking forward to the down time to work on some fundamentals before they head into league action against Palma on January 7.
“There are a whole bunch of things we’ll be working on,” said Paolucci. “Our transition defense definitely needs some work. We have some time to work out the kinks. League (TCAL) is really tough. We need to be ready to play every game.”
