OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce outrebounded Miramonte 34-17 and held the visitors to 30 percent shooting from the field on Saturday, beating Miramonte 50-45 for its fourth straight win. The Jayhawks improved to 11-1 on the season.
Miramonte started faster. The visitors made two free throws to open the scoring. After Marcus Lefkovits tied the game at 2, Miramonte hit a three off a turnover to go ahead 5-2. Johnny Williams gave Head-Royce its first lead with a three off a turnover, assisted by Bryce Clepper, to make it 10-9. Miramonte answered with four straight free throws, then added a two and a three to build an 18-12 lead, its largest of the game at six points.
Head-Royce responded with a 9-0 run. Micah Nyamuzuwe started it with a three on a feed from Clepper and followed with a two. Osagie Enabulele scored off a turnover on an assist from Micah Riebel to put the Jayhawks back in front at 19-18, and Riebel finished the run with a basket for a 21-18 lead. Head-Royce never trailed again. Enabulele set up threes by Nyamuzuwe and freshman Nick Taubes, and the Jayhawks led 27-23 after the first quarter. A Lefkovits three, assisted by Clepper, made it 32-25 in the second quarter, and Head-Royce took a 34-29 lead into halftime.
Miramonte opened the third quarter with a three to pull within 34-32. Williams answered with two free throws, and baskets by Lefkovits and Clepper made it 40-35. Jaden Recker hit a three off a Clepper assist for a 43-37 lead. Clepper then made four straight free throws to push the margin to 47-39, the Jayhawks' biggest lead of the game. Miramonte hit two threes over the rest of the quarter, but Riebel made two free throws in between and Clepper added one more to make it 50-45. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, according to the scorebook, and the five-point margin held.
Nyamuzuwe led Head-Royce with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds (three offensive) and a steal. Clepper scored nine points, going 7 of 8 at the free-throw line, and had six rebounds, six assists and no turnovers. Lefkovits had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks. Williams and Riebel scored six points each, and Riebel pulled down five rebounds. Recker added three points and five rebounds off the bench.
Head-Royce shot 38.5 percent (15 of 39) from the field and 6 of 14 from 3-point range. Miramonte made 12 of 40 shots and 5 of 23 from long range, and 16 of its 45 points came at the free-throw line. The Jayhawks made 14 of 20 free throws, won the offensive glass 10-6, blocked five shots and turned the ball over only six times. The Head-Royce bench scored eight points.
Head-Royce (11-1) returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, when it hosts Bentley JV.