OAKLAND, Calif. The Head-Royce boys junior varsity basketball team beat Redwood Christian JV 56-38 on Tuesday, Dec. 9, to improve to 4-1 on the season. The Jayhawks forced 21 turnovers and turned them into a 21-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Head-Royce never trailed or was tied, and it set the tone right away with a 14-0 run to open the game. Owen Sunwoo scored 12 of those points, starting with back-to-back 3-pointers, the second coming off a turnover. Adagio Williams added a basket in the run, and Sunwoo finished it with a basket off another turnover to make it 14-0. Kian Patel, Noah Bamfo and Williams all scored as the lead grew, and Patel's 3-pointer made it 24-6. A basket and free throw by Williams pushed the margin to 27-9.
Redwood Christian answered with an 8-0 run, hitting two 3-pointers in the stretch to cut the deficit to 27-17. The Jayhawks responded with an 8-0 run of their own. John Wheeler scored on back-to-back possessions off turnovers, both assisted by Patel, Azaan Zaka converted another turnover with a basket and Sunwoo capped the run for a 35-17 lead. Redwood Christian made one more push with a 7-0 run that pulled it within 35-24, but that was as close as it got.
Sunwoo hit a 3-pointer and scored off a turnover, and Makaio Popp converted another turnover on a Sunwoo assist as Head-Royce stretched the lead to 42-24. Williams scored twice more and Zaka made two free throws to make it 48-26. Late baskets by Wheeler, Jayan Shah and Popp, the last one assisted by Clayton Sonne, produced the Jayhawks' biggest lead at 54-31. Patel scored the final Head-Royce basket on a Sunwoo assist.
Sunwoo led all Head-Royce scorers with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, including 3 of 12 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Williams was efficient with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go with five rebounds and three steals. Patel added seven points, four rebounds and two assists, and Wheeler scored six points and led the defense with five steals. Zaka finished with four points and four rebounds, and Bamfo came off the bench to grab five rebounds.
Head-Royce shot 24 of 55 from the field (43.6 percent) and held Redwood Christian to 15 of 42 (35.7 percent). The Jayhawks totaled 14 steals and outrebounded the visitors 31-26, while the bench added eight points. Redwood Christian, which scored 10 second-chance points, was tracked only as a team.
Head-Royce has won two straight and returns to action Saturday, Dec. 13, when it hosts Antioch JV.