MORGAN HILL -- Even in the Nut House, their most unfriendly of venues, Ryan Williams and the Sobrato boy's basketball team felt right at home Wednesday.
Williams scored a game-high 20 points, Bryan Bradley added 14, and the Bulldogs ran away to an 80-45 victory over crosstown rival Live Oak on Wednesday before a raucous standing-room-only crowd in Live Oak Gym.
Sobrato only fed off of the noise, which, at times, drowned out play calling for both teams.
"The crowd was great, it was crazy," said Williams, who collected six rebounds and two blocks. "It was awesome playing here. There were a lot of Sobrato fans here, too. It felt like we were at our place."
The nonleague season opener was the fifth meeting between the Morgan Hill programs, and the Bulldogs made it one to remember.
After staying even with the Acorns through most of the first half, Sobrato exploded for 17 consecutive points in the final two minutes of the second quarter. Kenneth Mounteer put the Bulldogs ahead for good with back-to-back layins, Charley Bynum followed with four straight free throws, Bradley hit a pair of jump shots, and Howard Kwong dropped in a layup at the buzzer, giving Sobrato a 44-27 lead at the break.
"We came out slow but finished strong -- that's what we wanted," said Bradley, a junior transfer from Archbishop Mitty. "The crowd was getting loud toward the end of the first half, and we were just picked up the intensity.
Starting the year with a win like this against your rival, it can do a lot for your season. It sets the tone."
Michael Schreiber had 14 points -- eight from the free-throw line -- David Beckum totaled 11 points and six rebounds, and Dylan Davis had seven points and four assists for the Acorns, who were playing their first game under coach Vince Pacheco. Teammate Cody Gallizioli finished with eight points.
"We're a team in transition," Pacheco said. "And that's not to take anything away from Sobrato. They played a great game tonight. We made some mistakes, and they exploited them. They put on a shooting clinic for us."
The Acorns were pressured into committing four of their 25 turnovers during the Bulldogs' 17-0 scoring run.
"The word is called relentless," Sobrato coach Lawrence Crawford said of his team's defensive play. "On the defensive end, that's where we're going to make our statement. Our 'D' opened it up, but we started hitting some shots, too.
"I would have liked to see more transition, but we'll take what we can get."
The long ball shot helped Sobrato keep pace in the opening period and pull away in the second half. The Bulldogs made 11 3-point shots in the game, including six by Williams.
"I hope I'm going to shoot a lot from outside this year," said the 6-foot-3 junior, who took all of his shots from beyond the arc.
"He has the ability to do that every night," Crawford said of Williams. "I expect him to shoot like that every time. He can wear down the other team."
Live Oak jumped ahead 6-0 with two baskets from Schreiber and a runner in the lane by Beckum. But Mounteer cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer, and Williams made it 8-6 with a trey from left of the key. The Bulldogs pulled even with another basket by Mounteer, who scored a dozen on 5-of-7 shooting, and Bradley hit a layup in the final minute to push Sobrato ahead 18-16 going into the second quarter.
"We had some good spurts in there, but we couldn't keep it going," Pacheco said. "The point total was blown based on us doing things to try and creep back in during the second half."
After Davis rattled home a put-back shot to tie the game at 27 late in the second quarter, the Acorns did not score again until 2 1/2 minutes into the third.
"We could not get any offense going," Beckum said. "We looked clueless at times."
Williams sank three treys in the third quarter, and Sobrato got another buzzer-beater shot -- this time from Bradley -- to lead 59-39 heading into the fourth.
The Bulldogs outshot the Acorns 21-6 in the final period.
"It happened so fast," said Schreiber, who collected five rebounds and two assists. "It just seemed like they were more into it than we were."
Rauley Cambra finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, and Bynum had seven points and five rebounds for Sobrato, which plays its home opener Monday against Marina.
So far, Crawford likes what he sees.
"They're some spots on the defensive end where I want to play with pressure," Crawford said. "At times tonight, our guys weren't in their opponent's bubble. I want us to be in their bubble.
"To me, at this level, if you can play solid defense, you can play with anybody."
Sobrato and Live Oak will meet again during a tournament in late December. The Acorns travel to Anzar on Tuesday.
"We're going to be a way different running team by January," Pacheco said. "They've got to understand how to lose to win. A loss can be a learning tool. I guarantee this, that by January this team will be back with a different mentality. We'll be ready by next week."
Scott J. Adams Scott J. Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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