Gilroy – Live Oak thought it had this game in hand. Well, the Acorns did.
But despite enjoying a game-long lead over Aptos, a fourth-quarter lull proved costly for the Live Oak boys basketball team. Their late 11-point lead sent spiraling down the drain, the Acorns suffered a 52-47 defeat in the first round of the Ben Hagen Memorial Tournament.
“We started playing to lose,” said Live Oak head coach Brett Paolucci, whose team was outscored 20-9 in the fourth quarter. “We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t play good defense.”
The Acorns wasted strong performances from seniors Micah Jones and Dustin Bynum, who scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Behind ten points from Jones and two three-pointers by Brandon Greene, Live Oak built up a 29-19 halftime lead. Once Jones opened the third quarter with a three-pointer on an assist from Ivan Silveira, it looked like the Acorns would roll into the semifinals.
But Aptos gradually began to chip away at Live Oak’s lead.
Mariners forward Russell Mikols, who was held to just two points through three quarters, erupted when his team needed him most. Trailing 42-36, Aptos turned to Raymond for a three-pointer, two free throws and a lay-up to go up 43-42, its first lead of the game, with 3:47 left.
Though the Acorns briefly retook the lead on a Jones jumper from the left elbow, Aptos’ momentum was too much for Live Oak to overcome.
“We showed a lot of heart,” said Mariners head coach Joseph Smith. “We told ’em at halftime to come out and try to make a statement; to step up and play tough, and our guys did.”
Mikols led the Mariners with 11 points, while forward David Capurro scored ten points, including three in the final three minutes.
While Aptos advanced to play Monterey in the semifinals today at 6:30, the Acorns dropped into the consolation round.
With San Benito, a 61-40 loser to Monterey yesterday, awaiting his team, Paolucci had one thought going into today’s 3:30 contest.
“I hope my team shows up for four quarters,” said Paolucci.
