OAKLAND, Calif. The Head-Royce boys junior varsity basketball team came back from a 15-point deficit to beat St. Mary's 57-51 at home on Tuesday, Nov. 14, and improved to 3-1. The Jayhawks outscored the visitors 19-6 in the third quarter, and junior Jonah Greenberg led the way with 19 points off the bench.
Head-Royce took a 4-0 lead on a basket by sophomore Sam Gulaid, assisted by Nick Taubes, and two free throws by Jack Peay. St. Mary's answered with an 8-0 run. After a Greenberg basket made it 8-6, St. Mary's scored the next 12 points to lead 20-6, and the margin reached 15 at 31-16. Greenberg then scored seven points in a 9-1 Head-Royce stretch that included back-to-back baskets off turnovers by Taubes and Greenberg. That cut the lead to 32-25, and a Greenberg basket, assisted by Taubes, left the Jayhawks trailing 34-27 after one quarter.
Each team scored 11 points in the second quarter. Taubes hit a second-chance 3-pointer, assisted by Greenberg, to make it 41-36. Greenberg added a basket off a turnover, assisted by Greydon Ting, to get within 42-38, but St. Mary's scored the last three points of the half and led 45-38 at the break.
Head-Royce opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run on a Peay 3-pointer, an Owen Curry free throw and a Taubes basket, closing to within 45-44. St. Mary's answered with a 3-pointer, and the Jayhawks followed with 12 straight points. Gulaid scored on a putback, and Greenberg's second-chance basket tied it at 48. Greenberg's next basket put Head-Royce ahead 50-48, its first lead since 4-0. LaMarr Covington scored twice in a row, the second off a turnover, and Gulaid finished a feed from Peay after another turnover for a 56-48 lead, the Jayhawks' largest of the game. St. Mary's hit a 3-pointer and Covington added a free throw for the 57-51 final. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
Greenberg made 9 of 16 shots and added three rebounds, all offensive, and two steals. Covington had 11 points, three steals and two assists, and scored five of the Jayhawks' final nine points. Peay had nine points, a team-high 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Taubes scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and added a team-high five steals and two assists without a turnover. Gulaid added six points on 3-of-6 shooting and four rebounds.
Head-Royce had 15 steals and outscored St. Mary's 16-4 in points off turnovers, which offset its own 23 turnovers. The Jayhawks outrebounded St. Mary's 34-26, including 15-9 on the offensive glass, and held a 7-2 edge in second-chance points. Head-Royce shot 39.7 percent (25 of 63) to 34.7 percent (17 of 49) for St. Mary's, and its bench outscored the starters' opponents in the reserve battle with 22 points. St. Mary's stayed close at the line, making 13 of 23 free throws, while the Jayhawks made 5 of 10.
Head-Royce (3-1) has won one straight and will host Bentley JV on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.