The Live Oak boys basketball team never trailed in defeating Gonzales 58-36 in a non-league game.
“I expect this going into every game," said Andrew Poonia who scored nine points for Live Oak.
Said Josue Madrigal of Gonzales: “In the third quarter when we got a hurt player we just lost it from there. We played the best we could with five players.
Madrigal scored 11 points.
Added Gonzales coach Ruben Madrigal: “We came in short handed, but they played hard."
Live Oak led 23-18 at the half and then got into a groove in the third quarter.
“We came out with a different attitude," said Live Oak's Luke Laguna, who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. "First off, we were really slow; we weren’t really into the game. Second half we came out fired up. Regardless of their size, we got out there and handled business.”
Live Oak coach Brett Paolucci credited his team's defense with the victory.
“The third quarter we definitely picked it up on defense," he said. "We came out with a little bit more pressure, forced some turnovers and that created some points for us. I preach to them all the time that defense is going to win us ball games. If we get stops, we get more opportunities for us on the offensive end.”
Gonzales is now 1-6 after also dropping a non-league game to Saint Francis of Watsonville. Live Oak improved to 3-3 with the victory.
