OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce made 12 3-pointers and used a 12-0 first-half run to take control in a 73-53 win over Lick-Wilmerding on Monday. The Jayhawks improved to 10-5 and extended their winning streak to four games.
Lick-Wilmerding scored the first four points before the Jayhawks answered with a 7-0 run. Mikael Akpala hit a second-chance 3-pointer on a pass from Bryce Clepper, Micah Nyamuzuwe scored off a turnover and Akpala added a basket for a 7-4 lead. The game stayed close from there. After a 10-10 tie, Lick-Wilmerding scored on three free throws and a basket to go up 15-11, matching its largest lead of the night.
Head-Royce trailed 16-14 when it put together the decisive stretch. Freshman Alex Jones hit a 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Nick Taubes, to give the Jayhawks a 17-16 lead they never gave back. Nyamuzuwe scored off another turnover, Jonah Greenberg added a basket, Clepper converted a turnover into a basket and a free throw, and Greenberg scored again to complete the 12-0 run for a 26-16 lead. Jones and Taubes each hit a 3-pointer to push the margin to 32-20, and Akpala closed the half with three straight baskets as Head-Royce took a 40-27 lead into the break.
The Jayhawks opened the second half with 3-pointers from Jack Peay, Taubes and Akpala, the last one coming off a turnover, to lead 49-29. A basket by Clepper made it 59-37, a 22-point lead. Lick-Wilmerding answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer, to get within 59-44, and later pulled to 64-51. Head-Royce closed with a 9-0 run on back-to-back 3-pointers from Taubes and one from Nyamuzuwe, all three assisted by Akpala, for a 73-51 lead. Lick-Wilmerding scored the game's final basket.
Akpala led Head-Royce with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, along with seven rebounds and five assists. Nyamuzuwe added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Taubes, a sophomore, scored all 12 of his points on four 3-pointers in six attempts. Clepper finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, made all three of his free throws and led the team with seven assists and five rebounds. Peay scored eight points, and Greenberg (3-of-3) and Jones each scored six points off the bench.
Head-Royce shot 52.7 percent from the field (29-of-55) and made 12 of 29 3-point attempts, while Lick-Wilmerding shot 41.2 percent and made just 2 of 12 from deep. The Jayhawks had 20 assists on their 29 field goals, compared with nine for Lick-Wilmerding. Head-Royce scored 14 points off turnovers to Lick-Wilmerding's two, outrebounded the visitors 28-24 and got 12 points from its bench. Lick-Wilmerding made 9 of 16 free throws and scored eight second-chance points.
The win gave Head-Royce its fourth straight victory and moved the Jayhawks to 10-5 on the 2024-25 season.