OAKLAND, Calif. Micah Nyamuzuwe made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, and Head-Royce used a pair of 11-0 first-half runs to pull away from Athenian for an 84-60 win on Tuesday. The victory moved the Jayhawks to 11-7 on the season.
The opening minutes went back and forth, with five lead changes and one tie. Athenian never led by more than a point, and its last lead came at 7-6. Nyamuzuwe answered with a 3-pointer off a turnover, and Jack Peay followed with a basket off another turnover to put Head-Royce up 11-7. The Jayhawks never trailed again.
Athenian pulled within 14-12 on a 3-pointer, but Head-Royce answered with 11 straight points. Jonah Greenberg started the run with a second-chance basket, Sanjay Ernst hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Mikael Akpala, Akpala scored twice off turnovers and Sam Gulaid finished the burst with a basket off a turnover for a 25-12 lead. After Athenian cut the margin to 29-19, Nyamuzuwe took over with three straight 3-pointers, the last on a second-chance look, and Nick Taubes converted a turnover into a basket to cap another 11-0 run. Head-Royce led 40-21 at halftime.
The Jayhawks kept pushing after the break. Peay, Taubes (on a 3-pointer) and Akpala scored on consecutive baskets for a 7-0 run that made it 49-23, and Akpala and Nyamuzuwe added 3-pointers as the margin grew. Taubes scored five straight points on assists from Akpala, and 3-pointers from Gulaid and freshman Alex Jones stretched the lead to its largest point at 68-33. Athenian responded with a 12-0 run to get within 68-45, but Akpala ended the drought with a 3-pointer, and Peay and Ernst scored Head-Royce's next two baskets. Jones scored the Jayhawks' final four points, the last off a turnover, to make it 84-57 before Athenian closed the scoring.
Nyamuzuwe finished 8 of 14 from the floor and 6 of 11 from 3-point range with five rebounds. Taubes, a sophomore, added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with two assists, two steals and a block. Akpala had 12 points and three assists without a turnover, and Peay, also a sophomore, scored 11. Bryce Clepper did not score but handed out a team-high seven assists without a turnover. Jones led the bench with seven points, Gulaid had five points and five rebounds on 2-of-2 shooting, Ernst added five points and Ezra Goldfarb contributed four assists and four rebounds.
Head-Royce shot 35 of 71 (49.3 percent) and made 14 of 36 from beyond the arc, with 19 assists on its 35 field goals. The Jayhawks committed just four turnovers while forcing 12 and held a 23-0 edge in points off turnovers. Athenian shot 20 of 53 (37.7 percent) and made 14 of 20 free throws, while Head-Royce did not attempt a free throw. The Jayhawks also won the rebounding battle 33-31 and got 21 points from their bench.
With the win, Head-Royce improved to 11-7.