Head-Royce beat San Domenico 52-39 on the road on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, for its ninth straight win and improved to 32-2 on the season. The Jayhawks' defense held San Domenico to 25.5 percent shooting from the field, and Head-Royce committed only two turnovers all night.
The Jayhawks never trailed. Marcus Lefkovits scored the game's first basket on an assist from Johnny Williams, and Williams followed with a 3-pointer set up by Micah Nyamuzuwe for a 5-0 lead. After San Domenico pulled within 5-4, Head-Royce went on a 12-0 run. Williams scored eight points in the run with two 3-pointers and a two, and Micah Riebel and Bryce Clepper each added a basket. Williams capped the run with a 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Riebel, for a 17-4 lead.
Head-Royce followed with a 7-0 run. Marcel Pierre-Louis hit a 3-pointer, and Riebel scored twice, first on a second-chance basket and then off a turnover on a feed from Jaden Recker, to make it 24-5. San Domenico cut into the margin with a string of free throws and baskets, but Clepper scored on another Riebel assist, and the Jayhawks took a 28-15 lead into halftime.
Head-Royce pulled further ahead after the break. Williams scored off a turnover and made two free throws, Clepper made two of his own, and Riebel and Nyamuzuwe added second-chance baskets. Lefkovits then hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Clepper for a 42-21 lead, the Jayhawks' largest of the game. San Domenico answered with a 7-0 run to get within 42-28 and later scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to 46-39. Pierre-Louis ended that run with a basket and then assisted on two baskets by Nyamuzuwe, and Head-Royce closed the game on a 6-0 run.
Williams led the Jayhawks with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. He also made both of his free throws, grabbed four rebounds and did not commit a turnover. Riebel posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, four of them offensive, and added three assists. Nyamuzuwe scored seven points with two assists, and Clepper added six points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Off the bench, Pierre-Louis had five points, six rebounds and two assists.
The Jayhawks shot 33.3 percent from the field and made 5 of 28 from 3-point range, but they won the other categories that decided the game. Head-Royce outrebounded San Domenico 38-34, grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and outscored the hosts 10-2 on second-chance points. The Jayhawks scored 7 points off turnovers and allowed none, and they assisted on 12 of their 21 field goals. San Domenico made 1 of 16 attempts from 3-point range and scored 12 of its 39 points at the free throw line, where it went 12-of-17.
Head-Royce is now 32-2 on the season.