OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce beat College Prep 63-48 on Thursday night to improve to 12-7. The Jayhawks never trailed, and their defense set up the win: they forced 20 turnovers, made 17 steals and outscored the visitors 18-5 in points off turnovers.
Head-Royce scored the first 12 points of the game. Micah Nyamuzuwe opened the scoring with a basket off a turnover, assisted by Mikael Akpala. Akpala then scored twice, and Nyamuzuwe added another basket off a turnover and a free throw. Nick Taubes and Jack Peay made it 12-0. College Prep answered with six straight points to get within 12-6, but it did not get closer. With the Jayhawks up 17-12, they went on a 9-0 run. Akpala hit a 3-pointer during the run, and Nyamuzuwe scored five points, including a second-chance basket, to make it 26-12.
Taubes hit a 3-pointer from Bryce Clepper to put Head-Royce ahead 31-19. College Prep then scored the last seven points of the first half, three free throws and a 3-pointer, to trail 31-25 at halftime.
Head-Royce came out of the break with baskets off turnovers from Akpala, Alex Jones and Clepper to lead 37-25. College Prep kept coming back and got within 43-39 on a pair of free throws. The Jayhawks answered with 16 straight points. Luke Silva started the run with a 3-pointer from Taubes, and Taubes followed with a 3-pointer assisted by Ezra Goldfarb. Sanjay Ernst and Goldfarb each scored off a turnover, Taubes added two more baskets, and Jonah Greenberg finished the run with a second-chance basket from Goldfarb. That made it 59-39, Head-Royce's biggest lead of the night at 20 points. College Prep made two 3-pointers late, but Silva's second 3-pointer, again set up by Taubes, kept the margin in place.
Taubes, a sophomore, led Head-Royce with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including two 3-pointers. He added four rebounds, three assists and a steal and scored seven points during the decisive run. Akpala, a senior, had 11 points, two steals and a block. Nyamuzuwe, also a senior, scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, made 3 of 4 free throws and had two steals with no turnovers. Clepper ran the offense with seven assists, three steals and no turnovers. Peay, a sophomore, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Micah Riebel added seven rebounds, and Goldfarb had three steals and two assists.
Neither team shot well. Head-Royce made 37 percent of its shots (25-67) and 8 of 21 free throws, and College Prep made 34 percent (16-47), including 7 of 25 from 3-point range. The Jayhawks made up the difference on the glass and with the ball. They outrebounded College Prep 40-28, had a 15-3 edge in offensive rebounds and outscored the visitors 10-5 on second-chance points. They also committed 11 turnovers to College Prep's 20.
The win was Head-Royce's second in a row and moved the Jayhawks to 12-7 on the 2024-25 season.