OAKLAND, Calif. St. Joseph Notre Dame scored 18 straight points in the second half to turn a five-point deficit into a 13-point lead, and Head-Royce lost 70-55 on Wednesday. The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 18-14.
Head-Royce scored first. Nick Taubes hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Bryce Clepper, and Micah Nyamuzuwe scored off a turnover for a 5-0 lead. Head-Royce led for most of the opening stretch until St. Joseph Notre Dame tied the game at 15 and took an 18-17 lead with a 3-pointer off a turnover. Micah Riebel scored to put Head-Royce back in front, but the visitors answered with five straight points to lead 23-19.
The Jayhawks then scored nine points in a row. Clepper made a free throw, Riebel scored off a turnover on an assist from Sanjay Ernst, Mikael Akpala hit a second-chance 3-pointer set up by Taubes, and Taubes made a 3-pointer from Clepper for a 28-23 lead, Head-Royce's largest of the game. A Taubes free throw sent the Jayhawks into halftime ahead 29-25.
St. Joseph Notre Dame got within one point early in the second half, but Head-Royce kept answering. Riebel and Clepper each scored, and after the visitors tied it at 33, Akpala hit a 3-pointer and Riebel added a basket for a 38-33 lead. That was the last Head-Royce score for a long stretch. St. Joseph Notre Dame's 18-0 run included two 3-pointers and eight free throws, and it left the Jayhawks down 51-38. Nyamuzuwe hit a 3-pointer, Jonah Greenberg scored off a turnover and Riebel hit a 3-pointer off a turnover to cut the deficit to 53-46. St. Joseph Notre Dame then scored six straight points, pushed the lead to as many as 15 and closed the game at the free-throw line. St. Joseph Notre Dame outscored Head-Royce 45-26 after halftime.
Riebel, Nyamuzuwe and Taubes scored 12 points apiece. Riebel shot 5 of 12 from the field and had a team-high seven rebounds. Nyamuzuwe made two 3-pointers, and Taubes hit three 3-pointers and added three assists and two steals. Akpala had nine points, four rebounds and two steals. Clepper scored eight points and led the team with five assists.
The free-throw line made the difference. St. Joseph Notre Dame went 19 of 23 at the line, while Head-Royce went 5 of 12, a 14-point gap in a game decided by 15. Head-Royce was called for 18 fouls to St. Joseph Notre Dame's 13. The Jayhawks shot 36.8 percent (21 of 57) from the field and 8 of 30 from 3-point range, while St. Joseph Notre Dame shot 43.1 percent. The visitors also won the rebounding battle 31-24. Head-Royce had a 7-0 edge in second-chance points, and each team had eight steals or more, with Head-Royce committing 16 turnovers to the visitors' 15. The Head-Royce bench scored two points.
The teams split their season series. Head-Royce won the first meeting 70-67 at home on Jan. 31. The Jayhawks are 18-14.