OAKLAND, Calif. St. Mary's shot 58.2 percent from the field and assisted on 22 of its 32 field goals, handing Head-Royce a 77-43 loss on Friday. The Jayhawks fell to 1-1 on the 2024-25 season with their first loss.
St. Mary's scored the game's first five points before Jack Peay answered with a 3-pointer off a Bryce Clepper assist. Head-Royce stayed close through the early going. Baskets from Lamarr Covington and Micah Nyamuzuwe and a Clepper free throw kept the Jayhawks within three at 11-8. St. Mary's then scored five straight to go up 16-8. Nyamuzuwe scored off a turnover, but the visitors answered with a 6-0 run for a 22-10 lead.
Second-chance baskets from Sanjay Ernst and Alex Jones pulled Head-Royce within 24-14. The Jayhawks did not score again for a long stretch. St. Mary's ran off 16 consecutive points, took a 36-14 lead into halftime and pushed the margin to 40-14 early in the second half. Mikael Akpala ended the drought with a basket off a Clepper feed, and Clepper followed with a basket of his own.
Head-Royce played St. Mary's closer after the break, and Peay led the way. The sophomore scored eight of his points in the second half, including a second-chance basket set up by Jones and a basket off a Nick Taubes assist. Peay and Covington then combined for a 5-0 burst that made it 59-32. Taubes scored twice and Ezra Goldfarb added a basket, but St. Mary's closed with a 7-0 run to build its largest lead at 77-40. Luke Silva hit a 3-pointer on the game's final scoring play.
Peay led Head-Royce with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Covington, also a sophomore, scored seven points, went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line and had two steals. Silva made both of his shots, each from 3-point range, for six points off the bench. Nyamuzuwe and Taubes scored four points apiece, and Clepper finished with three points, two assists and two steals. Ernst and Jones grabbed four rebounds each, and Jones added two assists.
Head-Royce shot 34 percent (18-of-53) from the field and made 3 of 21 attempts from 3-point range. The Jayhawks forced 17 turnovers, including 11 steals, but committed 23 of their own, and St. Mary's held a 10-7 edge in points off turnovers. The visitors also won the rebounding battle 29-24 and outscored Head-Royce 13-6 in second-chance points. The Jayhawks' bench scored 16 points, and St. Mary's held a 22-6 edge in assists.
Head-Royce is now 1-1 on the season.
