OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce beat Gateway 77-51 on Wednesday, Dec. 27, and improved to 13-1 with its sixth straight win. The Jayhawks were relentless on the offensive glass and in the passing lanes, turning 21 steals and 22 offensive rebounds into 26 points off turnovers and 20 second-chance points.
Gateway kept it close early. Johnny Williams scored the game's first basket, and Marcus Lefkovits followed with back-to-back layups off turnovers for an 8-3 lead. Gateway then scored seven straight points to go ahead 10-8. Marcel Pierre-Louis answered with a 3-pointer to put Head-Royce back in front, but Gateway scored the next seven points and took its biggest lead, 17-13.
That was when the Jayhawks took over. Osagie Enabulele started a 12-0 run with a putback, Williams scored twice and Lefkovits added two more baskets. Micah Riebel closed the run with two free throws for a 25-17 lead. After two Gateway free throws, Head-Royce scored the next 10 points, five straight baskets split among Jaden Recker, Pierre-Louis, Lefkovits and Riebel, for a 35-19 lead. A 3-pointer by Malcolm Weekes pushed the margin to 42-22. Gateway closed the half on an 8-0 run, but Head-Royce still led 42-30 at halftime.
The Jayhawks pulled away after the break. Bryce Clepper and Micah Nyamuzuwe scored on putbacks, and Nyamuzuwe added another basket for a 48-30 lead. Williams then scored 13 points in the second half, including seven straight during a 10-0 run: a 3-pointer, two free throws and a putback. Pierre-Louis and Clepper finished that run for a 66-35 lead. Nyamuzuwe followed with a 3-pointer and a basket, and Enabulele's layup made it 73-37, the largest lead of the night at 36. Nyamuzuwe scored the game's final basket on a putback.
Williams led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lefkovits scored all 12 of his points in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Nyamuzuwe scored all 11 of his points after halftime and had a team-high five steals. Pierre-Louis came off the bench for 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, plus a team-high five assists and two blocks. Riebel led the team with eight rebounds, six on the offensive end, and Clepper had four assists and four steals.
Head-Royce shot 46.6 percent from the field and held Gateway to 39 percent. The Jayhawks outrebounded Gateway 37-23 and had 20 second-chance points to Gateway's two. They also held a 26-10 edge in points off turnovers. The bench scored 26 points. Gateway made 15 of 26 free throws, which helped offset Head-Royce's 22 turnovers.
Head-Royce (13-1) returns to action when it hosts Bentley JV on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.
