OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce overcame a five-point halftime deficit to beat College Prep 63-43 on Tuesday and improve to 17-13. The Jayhawks outscored the visitors 45-20 after the break and turned 13 College Prep turnovers into 23 points.
Head-Royce opened with a 7-0 run. Bryce Clepper hit a 3-pointer off a turnover on a feed from Micah Riebel, and Mikael Akpala and Jonah Greenberg followed with baskets, both assisted by Clepper. College Prep answered with an 8-0 run to take an 8-7 lead. Baskets by Clepper and Akpala put Head-Royce back in front 11-8, but College Prep scored the next seven points to lead 15-11. Akpala made two free throws and a basket to tie it at 15. The visitors then hit a 3-pointer off a turnover and added a basket, and after Micah Nyamuzuwe scored three points, a College Prep 3-pointer made it 23-18 at halftime.
Nyamuzuwe opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and the teams traded the lead from there. Greenberg tied it at 26 with a basket and put Head-Royce ahead 27-26 with a free throw. After College Prep went back in front 28-27, Nick Taubes scored on an assist from Akpala to give the Jayhawks the lead for good at 29-28. That basket started a 9-0 run that included a Nyamuzuwe 3-pointer and two baskets off turnovers by Riebel, making it 36-28.
After a College Prep basket, Head-Royce took control with a 14-0 run. Akpala scored six straight points, the last three on a 3-pointer off a turnover. Jack Peay followed with a 3-pointer off a turnover, both of those set up by Clepper, and Clepper hit a 3-pointer on a pass from Taubes. A basket by Peay made it 50-30. Akpala's 3-pointer off an assist from Nyamuzuwe made it 53-32, the largest lead of the game at 21 points. Greenberg scored three straight Head-Royce baskets down the stretch, and Riebel and Nyamuzuwe closed the scoring with baskets off turnovers.
Akpala led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range and 4 of 5 at the free-throw line. He added six rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Greenberg posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, seven of them offensive. Nyamuzuwe scored 11 points, made 2 of 4 from long range and had two steals. Clepper filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, a team-high six assists and three steals, and Riebel had six points, five steals and three assists. Peay added five points off the bench, and Luke Silva blocked three shots.
Head-Royce shot 36.8 percent from the field (25 of 68), while College Prep shot 32.7 percent and made just 4 of 21 attempts from 3-point range. The Jayhawks committed only four turnovers and had 11 steals and nine blocks. They held a 34-33 edge on the boards and an 11-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, and outscored College Prep 23-3 in points off turnovers.
The win gave Head-Royce a season sweep of College Prep after a 63-48 home victory on Jan. 9. The Jayhawks are 17-13 and have won two straight.