The Head-Royce boys junior varsity team rallied from a late third-quarter deficit to beat International JV 60-54 on the road Friday night, Dec. 9. A 12-0 run that carried into the fourth quarter decided the game, and the Jayhawks improved to 4-3 with their second straight win.
International JV scored first, and Head-Royce answered with nine straight points. Mikael Akpala scored the first two baskets, Jonah Greenberg hit a 3-pointer and Sanil Saxena added a basket for a 9-2 lead. Ezra Goldfarb then made a 3-pointer and a free throw to make it 21-11, the Jayhawks' largest lead of the night. International JV answered with seven straight points to get within 22-20, but baskets by Akpala and Micah Riebel and a 3-pointer from Saxena sent Head-Royce into halftime ahead 29-22.
International JV took control in the third quarter. It scored the first six points of the second half to pull within 29-28, and after a basket by Zac Gottschalk, it went on a 7-0 run to take a 35-31 lead. Riebel tied the game at 35 with a basket and two free throws, and Sam Gulaid tied it again at 38 with a 3-pointer. International JV then scored two straight baskets for a 42-38 lead, its largest of the game.
Henry Tatara started the comeback with a basket that cut the deficit to 42-40 at the end of the third quarter. Riebel opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to put Head-Royce back in front at 43-42. Goldfarb scored off a turnover, Akpala hit a 3-pointer and Riebel added a basket to finish the 12-0 run and make it 50-42. International JV scored six straight to get within 50-48, and a 3-pointer later made it 52-51. Goldfarb answered with another basket off a turnover, Riebel made a free throw and Akpala hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter for a 58-51 lead. Riebel closed it out with two more free throws.
Riebel led Head-Royce with 18 points, seven rebounds (six offensive), four steals and three assists. He made 7 of 8 free throws and scored 10 of the Jayhawks' 20 fourth-quarter points. Akpala added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Goldfarb, a freshman, scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Gottschalk had a team-high six steals, Greenberg had seven points and four steals, and Tatara grabbed six rebounds, five of them offensive.
The Jayhawks shot 28.6 percent (22 of 77) but made up for it with extra possessions. They finished with 25 steals and outrebounded International JV 38-10, including 20 offensive rebounds, which gave them 40 more shot attempts than the hosts. International JV shot 62.2 percent (23 of 37) from the field but made only 4 of 19 free throws. Head-Royce scored 10 points off turnovers to International JV's eight.
Head-Royce is now 4-3 on the season and has won two straight games.