OAKLAND, Calif. Sacred Heart Prep scored 15 straight points after a 31-31 tie and beat Head-Royce 69-58 on Saturday. The visitors also won the rebounding battle 34-13. The Jayhawks fell to 6-7 with their third straight loss.
Idan Benharush opened the scoring with a basket off a turnover, assisted by Tua Montoya. That 2-0 lead was Head-Royce's largest of the game, and the Jayhawks never led again. Sacred Heart Prep answered with a 6-0 run. Montoya kept Head-Royce close with a three-pointer off a turnover and a free throw that cut the deficit to 9-8. Sacred Heart Prep then pushed ahead 19-10. Nick Taubes hit a second-chance three-pointer on a feed from Sam Gulaid, and Gulaid followed with a basket. Benharush scored on an assist from Sanjay Ernst, and a Montoya three-pointer, assisted by Gulaid, pulled the Jayhawks within 21-20.
Sacred Heart Prep responded with a 10-0 run, with two of those baskets coming off turnovers, to go up 31-20. Head-Royce answered with an 11-0 run of its own. Taubes scored eight straight points on three consecutive baskets off turnovers and two free throws. Benharush finished the run with a three-pointer from Montoya that tied the game at 31, the second tie of the game.
The tie did not last. Sacred Heart Prep scored the next 15 points, including two second-chance baskets and two scores off turnovers, to lead 46-31. A Tucker Peay three-pointer and a Gulaid basket ended the drought, but the lead reached 16 at 54-38. Jack Peay hit a three-pointer and added a basket off a turnover to make it 56-45. Later, back-to-back three-pointers from Taubes and Benharush cut the margin to 61-52. Ezra Goldfarb then scored four straight points on a basket and two free throws, bringing Head-Royce within 63-56. Sacred Heart Prep answered with two straight baskets to regain control, and the teams traded scores to the finish.
Taubes led Head-Royce with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2 of 4 from three-point range and 4 of 4 at the line. He also had two steals, two assists and a block. Montoya added 11 points and a team-high five assists without a turnover. Benharush scored 10 points with two three-pointers and two steals. Off the bench, Goldfarb had five points and two assists, and Gulaid had four points, three assists and three rebounds. Tucker Peay grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
The glass decided much of the game. Sacred Heart Prep grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to Head-Royce's three and held a 10-5 edge in second-chance points. The visitors shot 51 percent from the field (25 of 49) and 8 of 16 from three-point range, and they had 19 assists. Head-Royce shot 42 percent (21 of 50) and went 8 of 24 from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks forced 15 turnovers, committed only nine and won the points off turnovers battle 13-8. Their bench added nine points.
Head-Royce (6-7) hosts College Prep on Friday, Jan. 16.