OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce closed the game on a 33-6 run to beat International 72-54 in its season opener Tuesday night. The Jayhawks improved to 1-0 by turning 20 International turnovers into 24 points.
The lead changed hands 15 times, and the teams were tied four times. International opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and led 11-6 before Head-Royce answered. Jack Peay made a free throw, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Bryce Clepper and Mikael Akpala put the Jayhawks ahead 13-11. Trailing 17-15, Head-Royce then scored 11 straight points. Freshman Sanjay Ernst started the run with a second-chance basket and a free throw, and Luke Silva finished it with a 3-pointer and a basket for a 26-17 lead. International hit three straight 3-pointers during a 9-0 run to tie the game at 26, and the teams went to halftime tied 32-32.
Nick Taubes opened the second half with a second-chance 3-pointer, and an Akpala 3-pointer made it 38-36. International then scored eight straight points and built its biggest lead of the night at 48-39. Head-Royce answered with 10 straight points. Davis Lynch hit a 3-pointer, Akpala added a basket and a 3-pointer off a turnover, and Taubes scored off another turnover to put the Jayhawks ahead 49-48.
International went back in front 50-49 on a second-chance basket, but Head-Royce took control from there with a 14-0 run. Lamarr Covington started it with a basket, Taubes scored six points during the run and Akpala added a basket off a turnover. Clepper made two free throws, Covington scored again and Taubes finished the run off a turnover for a 63-50 lead. Silva hit two 3-pointers off turnovers late, and Sam Gulaid's free throw made the final 72-54, Head-Royce's largest lead of the game.
Akpala led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Taubes, a sophomore, scored all 13 of his points after halftime and added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Silva scored 13 points off the bench and made 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. Clepper nearly had a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Peay grabbed nine rebounds and added three assists, and Covington had six points, four rebounds and two steals.
Head-Royce shot 42.2 percent (27 of 64) from the field, while International shot 37.5 percent (21 of 56). The Jayhawks had 11 steals and 19 assists on their 27 field goals. They also outrebounded International 41-35, and their 14 offensive rebounds led to an 11-7 edge in second-chance points. The Head-Royce bench outscored International's reserves' total contribution by accounting for 23 points, and the Jayhawks went 9 of 17 at the free-throw line.
With the win, Head-Royce is 1-0 on the 2024-25 season.