OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce forced 26 turnovers and made 21 free throws to beat Sacred Heart Prep 68-56 in a junior varsity boys basketball game Saturday. Sanjay Ernst scored 29 points as the Jayhawks improved to 6-2.
The lead changed hands nine times, and the score was tied three times. Sacred Heart Prep scored three straight baskets to lead 10-5 early. Ernst answered with a 3-pointer on an assist from Jayan Shah and then a basket that tied the game at 10. Adagio Williams and Jackson Benson each scored off a turnover and added a free throw, putting Head-Royce ahead 16-12.
Sacred Heart Prep then went on a 7-0 run that turned a 19-18 deficit into a 25-19 lead, and pushed its lead to 27-20, its largest of the game. The Jayhawks chipped away. Shah made two free throws, and Makaio Popp's 3-pointer on an assist from Ernst cut the gap to 32-31. Ernst then made two free throws to put Head-Royce ahead 33-32. Sacred Heart Prep went back in front 34-33 on a second-chance basket, but Shah hit a 3-pointer on another assist from Ernst, and Williams scored off a turnover for a 38-34 lead. Sacred Heart Prep never led again.
Head-Royce took control after Sacred Heart Prep cut the lead to 46-41. Ernst scored on a second-chance basket, Benson and Williams combined for four free throws, and Shah hit a 3-pointer off a turnover on an assist from Williams. The 9-0 run made it 55-41, the Jayhawks' largest lead. Sacred Heart Prep answered with 10 straight points to pull within 55-51 before Ernst ended the run with a basket. Benson followed with a 3-pointer on an assist from Williams to start a 7-0 run, and Popp and Ernst added four free throws for a 64-52 lead. Ernst and Williams each made two free throws in the final stretch to close it out.
Ernst went 9 of 16 from the field and 10 of 14 at the free throw line, adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Williams scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting, made 5 of 6 free throws and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Popp scored nine points on two 3-pointers, and Shah added eight points on two 3-pointers. Benson, a junior guard, had eight points, five rebounds, a team-high four assists and a team-high three steals off the bench.
The turnover battle decided the game. Head-Royce had 14 steals and turned Sacred Heart Prep's 26 turnovers into 13 points, while committing only 10 turnovers of its own. The Jayhawks also went 21 of 31 from the free throw line, while Sacred Heart Prep went 5 of 10. Those numbers made up for a gap on the glass and from the field. Sacred Heart Prep outrebounded Head-Royce 39-26, grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and shot 43.6 percent to the Jayhawks' 37.7 percent.
Head-Royce improved to 6-2 with the win.