OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce used a 27-0 run that spanned halftime to pull away from Crystal Springs for a 78-28 win Friday night, improving to 8-5 on the season. The Jayhawks forced 25 turnovers and held Crystal Springs to 15.7 percent shooting, and senior Mikael Akpala led the way with 18 points.
Crystal Springs held its only lead of the night at 2-0 after a pair of free throws. Head-Royce answered with 10 straight points. Jack Peay hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Bryce Clepper, Nick Taubes followed with a three, and Akpala and Taubes each scored off turnovers to make it 10-2. Freshman Sanjay Ernst came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers in the next stretch, and the Jayhawks led 19-7. An 8-0 run with baskets from Akpala, Micah Nyamuzuwe, Peay and Alex Jones stretched the lead to 32-12. Crystal Springs scored the next six points, but Ernst hit his third three and Jones added a second-chance basket to send Head-Royce into halftime ahead 37-18.
Head-Royce then scored the first 22 points of the second half. Akpala scored 11 points during the run, including a second-chance 3-pointer, and Nyamuzuwe added a second-chance three of his own. Taubes scored seven points in the stretch with two baskets off turnovers and a 3-pointer, and Akpala's free throw made it 59-18. After Crystal Springs scored four of the next five points, the Head-Royce reserves put together a 16-0 run. Jonah Greenberg scored three baskets, Jones hit two 3-pointers and Sam Gulaid scored twice, and the lead reached 76-22, the largest of the game at 54 points. Gulaid added a second-chance basket for Head-Royce's final points, and Crystal Springs closed the scoring with five points.
Akpala shot 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 6 from 3-point range, and he added two assists. Jones scored 13 points off the bench with three 3-pointers and six rebounds. Taubes, a sophomore, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Clepper did not score but filled the rest of the box score with eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals without a turnover. Ernst finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, and Greenberg had six points, seven rebounds (five offensive) and three steals.
The defense set the tone. Head-Royce recorded 18 steals and six blocks, and it outscored Crystal Springs 20-2 in points off turnovers. Crystal Springs made 8 of 51 shots from the field and 2 of 22 from 3-point range, and 10 of its 28 points came at the free throw line. The Jayhawks shot 43.7 percent (31 of 71) and made 12 3-pointers, and 24 of their 31 field goals came off assists. Head-Royce also won the rebounding battle 44-27, grabbing 15 offensive boards that led to a 23-4 edge in second-chance points. The bench scored 37 points.
Head-Royce has now won two games in a row and stands at 8-5.