OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce came back from a 13-point deficit and led by six late, but Hendu Elite controlled the offensive glass and finished the game on a 16-2 run to beat the Jayhawks 67-59 on Thursday. The loss dropped Head-Royce to 2-7.
Hendu Elite scored the first basket and controlled the early going. Baskets by Sanjay and PJ tied the game at 2 and again at 4, but the visitors pulled ahead from there. A 6-0 run that included two baskets off turnovers pushed the lead to 24-12, and Hendu Elite kept scoring on second chances to build its largest lead at 32-19.
The Jayhawks answered from the perimeter. John Wheeler hit his second 3-pointer, and PJ followed with a 3-pointer of his own. Sanjay then scored off a turnover and made a free throw to finish a 6-0 run that cut the margin to 36-30. PJ made another 3-pointer and Sanjay scored off another turnover to pull Head-Royce within 39-37. PJ's basket made it 45-43, and his 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Owen, gave the Jayhawks their first lead at 46-45. After Hendu Elite went back ahead, PJ made two free throws for a 48-47 edge. Sanjay followed with two straight baskets, the second a second-chance basket assisted by LeAdagio, for a 52-48 lead. Jason's 3-pointer on a Wheeler assist and a Wheeler basket pushed the lead to 57-51, Head-Royce's largest of the game.
Hendu Elite then scored eight straight points, including two straight baskets off turnovers, and took a 59-57 lead. Sanjay made two free throws to tie the game at 59 at the end of the first period, but Head-Royce did not score again. In the second period, Hendu Elite scored a basket and a second-chance basket, made two free throws and added one more basket to close the game on its second 8-0 run.
Sanjay led the Jayhawks with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting and went 6 of 9 at the free-throw line. He also had five rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block. PJ scored 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and grabbed four rebounds. Wheeler finished with eight points on two 3-pointers and had a team-high three assists. Jason added three points off the bench.
Head-Royce shot 53.7 percent from the field (22 of 41) and made 6 of 15 3-point attempts. Hendu Elite shot 50 percent and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts, so rebounding decided the game. Hendu Elite outrebounded the Jayhawks 30-17, grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and turned them into 16 second-chance points, while Head-Royce scored two. Hendu Elite also scored 16 points off 11 Head-Royce turnovers. The Jayhawks forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points off them.
The loss was the sixth straight for Head-Royce, which is 2-7 in the 2025 summer season.