OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce turned 31 Futures High turnovers into a 57-46 win on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, closing on an 18-4 run after falling behind in the second half. Senior Micah Nyamuzuwe led the Jayhawks (4-1) with 20 points and seven steals as they won their third straight game.
Head-Royce scored the first five points on a second-chance basket by Lamarr Covington, then a basket and a free throw from Sanjay Ernst. After Futures High scored its first basket, Nyamuzuwe hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 11-2 lead. Bench players Alex Jones and Mikael Akpala each hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 19-8. Futures High answered with a 7-0 run and tied the game at 21 with three straight baskets. Jones then scored twice in a row off turnovers and Nyamuzuwe added a basket, and Head-Royce led 27-23 at halftime.
Akpala opened the second half with a second-chance 3-pointer, and a 3-pointer by Davis Lynch made it 33-28. Futures High then scored 10 straight points, including two 3-pointers, to take a 38-33 lead. The visitors went up 40-34, their largest lead of the game, before a 3-pointer by Akpala and a Nyamuzuwe basket off a turnover cut the deficit to 40-39.
Trailing 42-39, Head-Royce took control with a 10-0 run. Nyamuzuwe scored a basket and made two free throws to put the Jayhawks ahead 43-42. Bryce Clepper added two free throws, and Jonah Greenberg and Nyamuzuwe scored on back-to-back turnovers for a 49-42 lead. Futures High scored only four more points. Nyamuzuwe added two more baskets, Akpala scored off a turnover to make it 55-44, and Greenberg's basket closed the scoring.
Nyamuzuwe shot 8-of-19 from the field and added six rebounds and three assists. He scored 12 of his 20 points after halftime. Akpala scored 12 points off the bench on three 3-pointers, and Jones added seven. Clepper did not make a field goal but had six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Ernst finished with five points and seven rebounds, five of them offensive, and Covington had four assists.
Defense decided the game. Head-Royce made 23 steals, forced 31 turnovers and scored 19 points off those turnovers, while Futures High scored four points off Head-Royce turnovers. That made up for a poor shooting day: the Jayhawks shot 21-of-65 (32 percent) from the field, while Futures High shot 39 percent. Each team had 34 rebounds, but Head-Royce had 17 offensive rebounds to 8 for Futures High. The bench scored 26 points.
Head-Royce improved to 4-1 with its third consecutive win.