OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce scored the game's first 10 points and never trailed Friday, beating Hillsdale JV 65-49 to improve to 2-0 in the 2023 summer season. The Jayhawks held Hillsdale JV to 29.5 percent shooting and led by as many as 22 points in a game with no ties and no lead changes.
Micah Riebel set the tone right away. He opened the scoring with a basket and two free throws, Mikael Akpala finished a feed from Jonah Greenberg, and Riebel added a second-chance basket. A basket by Greenberg capped the 10-0 run. Hillsdale JV answered with a three, but Riebel hit a three of his own, and Tua Montoya buried a three off a turnover, assisted by Seabass Heredia-Zulaica, to make it 21-7.
Leading 24-11, the Jayhawks added a 9-0 run. Riebel started it with a three, Greenberg followed with two straight baskets, the second a second-chance score, and Heredia-Zulaica finished a pass from Greenberg to make it 33-11. Ezra Goldfarb turned a Hillsdale JV turnover into a basket late in the half, and Head-Royce went to halftime ahead 37-15.
Greenberg scored off a turnover on an assist from Akpala, and Sam Gulaid finished a pass from Goldfarb to push the lead to 41-19, the largest of the game. Hillsdale JV answered with a 10-0 run, helped by two straight second-chance baskets, and cut the deficit to 41-29. Heredia-Zulaica ended the run with a three from Greenberg. Hillsdale JV kept coming and got within 54-46, but Head-Royce closed the door with a 9-0 run. Greenberg scored, Riebel made two free throws, Akpala scored on an assist from Gulaid, the Jayhawks added a free throw, and Gulaid finished a pass from Akpala to make it 63-46. Goldfarb had the final basket, another score off a turnover.
Riebel led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and he went 4-for-4 at the free throw line with five rebounds. Greenberg added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Akpala scored nine points, and Heredia-Zulaica had seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Goldfarb added six points and two steals, Gulaid had four points and a team-high six rebounds, and Montoya scored three.
Head-Royce shot 26 of 56 (46.4 percent) from the field, made 6 of 15 from 3-point range and went 7-for-7 at the line. Hillsdale JV made 18 of 61 shots and 4 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks blocked six shots, turned Hillsdale JV turnovers into nine points and gave up no points off their own turnovers. Hillsdale JV won the rebounding battle 30-28, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, and outscored Head-Royce 8-6 in second-chance points.
Head-Royce improved to 2-0 and has won two straight games.