Santa Cruz took over at the free-throw line in the second half and beat the Head-Royce boys basketball team 61-47 on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 33-3. Santa Cruz made 27 of 37 free throws, while Head-Royce went 11 of 18 and was called for 29 fouls to Santa Cruz's 16.
Head-Royce scored first. Micah Nyamuzuwe hit a 3-pointer off a Bryce Clepper assist, and a Nyamuzuwe putback and a Clepper free throw made it 10-4, the Jayhawks' biggest lead of the night. Santa Cruz answered with a 6-0 run, hitting a second-chance three and another three to tie the game at 10. The teams were tied again at 12 before baskets by Johnny Williams and Nyamuzuwe put Head-Royce back in front. Marcus Lefkovits scored on a feed from Williams, and Osagie Enabulele added a second-chance basket to give the Jayhawks a 22-17 lead at halftime.
Head-Royce kept the lead early in the second half, and Williams scored on a Clepper assist for a 28-23 advantage. Santa Cruz then hit a two and a three to tie it at 28, the third tie of the game. Williams answered to make it 30-28, but Santa Cruz scored the next five points to take a 33-30 lead. That was the game's only lead change. Nyamuzuwe hit a three off a Williams assist and Clepper made a free throw to cut the deficit to 37-35, but Santa Cruz scored the next four points and never let Head-Royce get closer. After a Santa Cruz three made it 44-37, every one of Santa Cruz's final 17 points came on free throws, including a 6-0 run that stretched a 53-45 lead to 59-45. That 14-point margin was the largest of the game. Santa Cruz outscored Head-Royce 44-25 in the second half, and 20 of its second-half points came at the line.
Williams led Head-Royce with 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Nyamuzuwe was the Jayhawks' most efficient scorer with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range, plus five rebounds. Clepper finished with eight points, going 4 of 6 from the line, with two assists and two steals.
Marcel Pierre-Louis came off the bench for seven points and 10 rebounds, seven of them offensive, before finishing with five fouls. Lefkovits, who also finished with five fouls, had two points and five rebounds, and Micah Riebel grabbed six rebounds. The Head-Royce bench scored 11 points.
The Jayhawks outscored Santa Cruz 34-30 on field goals, making 17 shots to Santa Cruz's 15. But Head-Royce shot 27.4 percent (17 of 62) and made just 2 of 19 3-point attempts, while Santa Cruz shot 30 percent. The rebounding was even at 36 apiece, and Head-Royce had a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass, but that produced only four second-chance points. Santa Cruz blocked eight shots. The Jayhawks had nine steals and forced six turnovers but scored just two points off turnovers.
Head-Royce fell to 33-3 with the loss.