OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce used a 13-0 run that started before halftime and carried into the second half to pull away from Justin-Siena for a 68-46 win on Tuesday. Micah Nyamuzuwe scored a team-high 22 points as the Jayhawks improved to 5-1 and won their fourth straight game.
The first half was close. Nyamuzuwe opened the scoring with a 3-pointer off an assist from Bryce Clepper, but Justin-Siena answered and the game was tied at 5. The visitors then scored four straight points to lead 9-6 and went up 11-8, their biggest lead of the night. Head-Royce answered with a 6-0 run. Alex Jones made a free throw, Nick Taubes scored off a turnover to tie it at 11 and Nyamuzuwe hit a 3-pointer from Jones for a 14-11 lead. Justin-Siena went back in front 16-14 on two free throws and a 3-pointer.
That was the last lead Justin-Siena held. Nyamuzuwe scored on back-to-back possessions to start a 9-0 run, and Clepper added a free throw. Jonah Greenberg scored off a pass from Ezra Goldfarb, and Clepper finished the run with a basket for a 23-16 lead. After the teams traded baskets to make it 25-20, Head-Royce scored 13 straight points. Nyamuzuwe scored inside, Goldfarb hit a 3-pointer from Clepper and Nyamuzuwe made a 3-pointer from Goldfarb for a 33-20 halftime lead. Nyamuzuwe opened the second half with another 3-pointer, this one assisted by Mikael Akpala, and Clepper's second-chance basket made it 38-20.
Justin-Siena never got closer than 16 points after that. A 6-0 run capped by a Jones 3-pointer from Taubes made it 49-27. Nyamuzuwe added a second-chance 3-pointer from Sam Gulaid, and Luke Silva hit a 3-pointer for a 58-32 lead. Sanjay Ernst hit a 3-pointer from Davis Lynch, and Lynch followed with a 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Ernst, for a 64-38 lead, the largest of the game. Lynch scored the final basket after another turnover.
Nyamuzuwe made 8 of 14 shots, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and grabbed four rebounds. Clepper had six points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Greenberg scored seven points and had seven rebounds, all on the offensive glass. Goldfarb added seven points, three assists and two steals, and Taubes scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Lynch had five points and three steals, and Ernst, a freshman, scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting.
The defense set the tone. Head-Royce forced 20 turnovers with 13 steals and held Justin-Siena to 32 percent shooting. The Jayhawks made 11 3-pointers to Justin-Siena's two and won the rebounding battle 35-30, with 17 offensive rebounds. The bench scored 33 points, and 17 of the team's 26 field goals came off assists. Justin-Siena stayed in the game early at the free throw line, where it made 16 of 22 attempts.
Head-Royce is now 5-1 and has won four straight games.