Head-Royce opened with a 15-0 run and never let up, beating Bentley 65-19 on the road Thursday night. The Jayhawks improved to 28-2 and won their fifth straight game. Their defense piled up 23 steals and held Bentley to 25 percent shooting.
The Jayhawks led the whole way. Marcus Lefkovits and Bryce Clepper opened the scoring with second-chance baskets, and Micah Nyamuzuwe took over from there. The junior scored 11 points in the opening run, including a steal and score, a 3-pointer off a turnover and another 3-pointer assisted by Micah Riebel, which made it 13-0. Bentley did not score until Head-Royce led 15-0.
Head-Royce led 22-8 when Clepper started a 10-0 run with a basket off a turnover and a putback. Johnny Williams followed with two straight 3-pointers, both assisted by Clepper, to make it 32-8. Mikael Akpala hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Lamarr Covington, and the Jayhawks took a 40-13 lead into halftime.
The second half opened with another 10-0 run. Lefkovits scored off a turnover, Clepper made two free throws and Riebel added a basket off a steal. Williams capped the run with a free throw and a second-chance 3-pointer set up by Jaden Recker, making it 50-13. Recker later hit a 3-pointer and two free throws. The bench closed the game on an 8-0 run: Osagie Enabulele had a three-point stretch, Covington scored four points and Jack Peay made a free throw. That final free throw made it 65-19, the Jayhawks' biggest lead of the night at 46 points.
Nyamuzuwe led Head-Royce with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, all of them in the first half, and added four rebounds and three steals. Williams scored 12 points and made 3 of 6 attempts from 3-point range. Clepper was perfect from the field, going 4 for 4 with two free throws for 10 points, and also had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals without a turnover. Recker had five points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench, and Riebel added four points, five rebounds and three steals.
Head-Royce shot 38 percent (23 of 60) but made up for it on the glass and on defense. The Jayhawks outrebounded Bentley 40-19, grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to Bentley's three and outscored the hosts 11-4 on second-chance points. They also had a 13-4 edge in points off turnovers, and their bench scored 18 points. Bentley went 7 of 28 from the field, 1 of 9 from 3-point range and 4 of 12 at the free throw line, and finished with one assist.
The win came five days after Head-Royce beat Bentley 75-46 on the road on Feb. 3. The Jayhawks are now 28-2 this season.