The Head-Royce boys junior varsity basketball team fell 51-48 at Castro Valley High on Wednesday, Dec. 28, dropping to 6-4 on the season after a second-quarter surge gave the hosts a lead the Jayhawks could not quite overcome.
Castro Valley scored the game's first basket before Mikael Akpala answered with a second-chance bucket to tie it at 2. The hosts then ran off eight straight points, getting a three and three free throws, to lead 10-2. Castro Valley stretched the margin to 15-5, but Head-Royce chipped away behind Micah Riebel and Jonah Greenberg, who scored on back-to-back possessions off turnovers to cut it to 19-14. Trailing 21-14, the Jayhawks put together a 9-0 run. Greenberg scored off another turnover, Riebel hit a second-chance three, Henry Tatara tied it at 21 with a putback and Riebel gave Head-Royce its only lead at 23-21. Castro Valley answered with a three to take a 24-23 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the hosts. A second-chance three pushed the lead to 27-23, and after a Greenberg basket, Castro Valley scored six straight on a three, a free throw and a putback to go up 33-25. Akpala scored, but the hosts made four consecutive free throws and added a second-chance basket to build their biggest lead at 39-27. Tatara hit a second-chance three and Greenberg converted a steal into a layup to get within 39-32, but Castro Valley scored the final four points of the half to lead 43-32 at the break. Neither team scored in the third quarter.
Head-Royce went to work in the fourth. Greydon Ting opened the period with a three, and Riebel scored twice on putbacks around an Akpala basket as the Jayhawks cut the deficit to 46-43. Castro Valley responded with two baskets, one off a turnover, to lead 50-43. Riebel made two free throws, and Ting hit a second-chance three on a feed from Akpala to make it 50-48. Castro Valley added a free throw for the final margin.
Riebel led Head-Royce with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including two 3-pointers, and added six rebounds, three steals and a block. Greenberg scored 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, four of his baskets coming off turnovers, and grabbed six rebounds. Tatara had eight points, a team-high nine rebounds and three steals. Ting finished with six points and seven rebounds, while Akpala scored six points and handed out seven assists.
The Jayhawks outshot Castro Valley 37.7 percent (20 of 53) to 28.6 percent (18 of 63) and made six 3-pointers to the hosts' five. The difference came at the free-throw line, where Castro Valley went 10 of 17 and Head-Royce went 2 of 3. The hosts also won the rebounding battle 35-31, with 13 offensive boards leading to 20 second-chance points, though Head-Royce countered with 22 second-chance points of its own. The Jayhawks recorded 12 steals and held an 8-6 edge in points off turnovers but committed 14 turnovers. Five players accounted for all 48 Head-Royce points.
Head-Royce is now 6-4.