OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce led at halftime but could not keep up with King's Academy on the glass after the break, falling 68-48 at home Saturday. The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 15-12. King's Academy outrebounded Head-Royce 47-22 and outscored the Jayhawks 42-21 in the second half.
The first half was close throughout, with seven lead changes and six ties in the game. Micah Nyamuzuwe opened the Head-Royce scoring with a 3-pointer off a turnover. Trailing 6-5, the Jayhawks then scored seven straight points. Nick Taubes hit a 3-pointer, Mikael Akpala scored off a turnover and Micah Riebel added a basket to make it 12-6, the largest Head-Royce lead of the game. King's Academy answered with an 8-0 run, built on two 3-pointers, to go ahead 14-12. Alex Jones tied it at 16-16, and Taubes then took over, hitting three 3-pointers in a four-possession stretch to tie the game at 22-22 and put Head-Royce ahead 25-24. Nyamuzuwe's basket, assisted by Akpala, gave the Jayhawks a 27-26 lead at the break.
King's Academy scored the first six points of the second half, and Head-Royce spent the rest of the night chasing. The Jayhawks pulled even one last time at 34-34 on baskets by Nyamuzuwe and Taubes, but King's Academy scored the next four points and never trailed again. Head-Royce stayed within reach behind Riebel and a second-chance basket from Akpala, and after King's Academy stretched the lead to 50-40, Taubes hit a 3-pointer and a two to cut it to 50-45. King's Academy responded with a 9-0 run, including four straight free throws, to lead 59-45. Taubes hit one more 3-pointer, but King's Academy closed with another 9-0 run to finish the game on an 18-3 surge.
Taubes, a sophomore, led all Head-Royce scorers with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-14 from 3-point range. He accounted for seven of the team's eight 3-pointers and scored its final eight points. Riebel, a senior, filled the stat sheet with seven points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Nyamuzuwe added seven points, four assists and a block, while Akpala had four points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Bryce Clepper led the team with five assists and grabbed four rebounds, and Jones scored three points off the bench.
The difference was on the boards and at the free throw line. King's Academy grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to five for Head-Royce and held an 8-5 edge in second-chance points. King's Academy made 13 of 15 free throws, while the Jayhawks went 2-for-8. Head-Royce shot 36.5 percent from the field (19-of-52) against 39.1 percent for King's Academy. The Jayhawks forced 13 turnovers and made nine steals, but King's Academy scored 14 points off turnovers to 10 for Head-Royce.
Head-Royce is 15-12 on the season.