Friday’s boys basketball semifinal game between Hollister High
and Live Oak in the Bob Hagen Tournament in Gilroy was a lowdown
showdown thriller with the Acorns surviving 59-54.
Friday’s boys basketball semifinal game between Hollister High and Live Oak in the Bob Hagen Tournament in Gilroy was a lowdown showdown thriller with the Acorns surviving 59-54.
The Balers (9-2) tied the game with 38 seconds left on a three-pointer by Kyle Sharp. The Acorns answered with a 3-point goal of their own with 20 seconds remaining by Miles Curley. Live Oak added another hoop with a second left for the five-point differential.
The effort by the Balers was impressive because the Acorns are ranked 11th in the Central Coast Section.
“The game was still the buzz on Saturday,” said Balers coach David Kaplansky. “Everyone came up to me and said how great we played. We came into the tournament as the underdog because we had been playing in tournaments up in San Jose. We gained a lot of respect and could have very well won the tournament.”
Live Oak defeated Gilroy 57-47 in Saturday’s title game. Meanwhile, the Balers blew away Harbor 69-27 on Saturday for third place. They were up 41-18 at the half.
“We took out a little frustration against Harbor,” said Kaplansky.
In the loss to Live Oak, which has a huge frontline, Sharp ended up with 24 points. He had 18 in the win over Harbor to go with a 30-point effort vs. Aptos, which earned him all-tourney.
“Coaches from UC Davis and Humboldt State were there to watch Live Oak and they were all over me after the game talking about Kyle,” said Kaplansky. “He’s playing real well right now.”
Anthony Butler had 13 points vs. the Pirates and eight against Live Oak. Broc Sondgroth tallied 14 vs. Harbor and eight vs. the Acorns. Jeff Fajardo had 11 in Saturday’s contest.
“We’ve been taking the high-percentage shot,” said Kaplansky. “We’re not shooting many 3s. We’re structured with our offense and get easy buckets.”
The Balers are at the North Salinas Tournament this Thursday and repeat another face-off with Aptos at 3:30 p.m. The Balers defeated the Mariners in the first round of the Hagen Tournament. Win or lose, the Balers will play either Salinas or Monterey, two excellent teams, on Friday.
The Balers host Monterey on Jan. 3 and Seaside, which lost in the finals of the Luis Scattini Tournament this past weekend, on Jan. 10. The Tri-County Athletic League begins Jan. 18 at home vs. Live Oak in what should be another game to buzz about.
“I told my team there are no more cupcakes this year,” said Kaplansky.
