Live Oak used a 29-point third quarter to dispatch Monta Vista
Thursday night in the first round of the Bob Hagen Memorial
Tournament in Gilroy.
GILROY – Live Oak used a 29-point third quarter to dispatch Monta Vista Thursday night in the first round of the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament in Gilroy.
The Acorns had a strong contribution from everyone on the team. Only two players did not have a basket. Coach Brett Paolucci was able to make his already deep bench a little deeper by starting guys who have normally come off the bench.
“This has been the best week of practice since I’ve been here,” Paolucci said. “The guys who don’t normally start have raised the bar for the starters and have been pushing them all week long. That is just going to make us a better team.”
“The five guys came out and practiced really hard this week, and they deserved it (to start),” Paolucci added. “The attitudes were really good. Those five guys started, and they had eight guys on the bench who were their biggest fans. They set the tempo for that game.”
With players like twins Nick and Dave Garcia (4 points), Scott Moquin (10 points, 6 rebounds), Chris Deem (6 points, 5 rebounds) and Cuthbert Wong (2 points) playing most of the first quarter, the Acorns were able to build up a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. At halftime, they were up 35-25.
Maciek Bratowski led the Acorns with 25 points, dominating in the post. He had ten rebounds – four of which were offensive putbacks for scores.
“He attacked the basket, was ready for passes, dished off and made some really strong moves,” Paolucci said. “We’ve been working on that all week long, trying to get him to be more physical going to the basket. It paid off for all of our post guys.”
Robert Rothbart, who towers over even the tallest of Live Oak players at 7-foot-1, was a big part of the Matadors game plan in the first half, scoring 19 of the team’s 25 points. In the second half, Live Oak limited him to just four points.
“I was just trying to block him out play strong defense and get the rebounds,” said Bratowski on trying to defend Rothbart.
Said Paolucci: “I was happy to see that we were able play against some height. Our big guys really woke up. We just tried to be physical.”
Paolucci said he just tried to do what has been working for his team and what has given the team an 8-1 start to the season – one of the best starts in modern history.
“Nothing much changed,” Paolucci said. “We just stuck to the same game plan. We made sure we got in front and had a lot of weak-side help. When the shot went up, we knew we had to get the rebound. We did a good job of controlling the ball once we got it.”
Live Oak broke the game open with one of its strongest quarters of the year, going on a 29-14 run in the third quarter.
“We were up by ten at halftime,” Paolucci said. “We told them we didn’t want to let them back in the game, and we wanted to put them away right now. We got a lot of momentum going our way, and we would like to keep this way. We just have to take it one game at a time.”
Monta Vista coach Ed Campell, whose team is 3-5, also agreed the third quarter was what hurt his squad.
“They just came out far more aggressive,” Campbell said. “Sometimes when the other team pushes, we don’t quite push hard enough back. Live Oak played very well the first three or four minutes of the third quarter, and the game opened up from there. They just rode the momentum.”
While the Matadors have one tall guy over seven feet, the Acorns have three who are nearly seven feet.
“They are an unusual high school team with their height,” Campbell said. “It seems like the guys they are bringing off the bench are just as big and just as strong. They just wore us down.”
Live Oak will face Hollister tonight at 6:30 p.m. as the Bob Hagen Tournament continues in a game that preshadows the Tri-County Athletic League rivalry.
“They’re a good team. They get after it,” said Paolucci, who saw the Balers win the consolation game of the Los Gatos tournament. “They are physical, and they’re fast and athletic. I like the makeup of their team. It will be a fun game of two rivals getting after it.”
