OAKLAND, Calif. The Head-Royce boys junior varsity team never trailed Friday, scoring the game's first 11 points and forcing 20 turnovers in a 75-34 win over Athenian JV. The Jayhawks improved to 8-3 and have now won two games in a row.
Head-Royce set the tone early. Azaan Zaka scored the first basket and Owen Sunwoo made two free throws. Adagio Williams then scored off a turnover on a feed from Kian Patel. Zaka added another basket, and Makaio Popp finished the 11-0 run with a 3-pointer off a turnover, again set up by Patel. Around a pair of Athenian JV scores, Williams, Clayton Sonne and Williams again made 3-pointers to push the lead to 20-5.
The lead kept growing. Consecutive baskets from Noah Bamfo, Popp and Zaka made it 28-9. After an Athenian JV basket, the Jayhawks answered with an 8-0 burst: a Popp 3-pointer off a turnover, a Zaka basket and a Sunwoo 3-pointer for a 36-11 advantage. Athenian JV scored five straight to pull within 36-16, but it never got closer than 20 points again.
The Jayhawks pulled away with two more runs. Jayan Shah scored five points in a 7-0 stretch, and Williams scored off a turnover on a pass from John Wheeler, making it 45-18. After an Athenian JV 3-pointer, Head-Royce scored nine straight. Wheeler scored on a Shah assist, Patel hit a 3-pointer set up by Shah, and Zaka capped the run with two baskets, the second a second-chance score assisted by Popp, for a 54-21 lead. Sunwoo hit two more 3-pointers down the stretch and Popp scored on back-to-back trips. Patel's 3-pointer on an assist from Wheeler closed the scoring and gave Head-Royce its largest lead of the night at 41 points.
Zaka and Popp shared the team scoring lead with 14 points apiece. Zaka made 6 of 7 shots from the field and both of his free throws, and he grabbed three rebounds. Popp led the bench, shooting 6-of-8 with six rebounds, four assists, five steals and a block. Sunwoo scored 13 points on three 3-pointers and added four assists. Williams had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Patel finished with eight points and four assists. Wheeler matched Popp with five steals and also had four assists.
Head-Royce shot 52.6 percent (30 of 57) and held Athenian JV to 26.7 percent (12 of 45). The Jayhawks had 16 steals and scored 22 points off turnovers. They committed only six turnovers, which Athenian JV turned into five points. Head-Royce assisted on 24 of its 30 field goals, while Athenian JV had four assists. The Jayhawks got 25 points from their bench and outrebounded Athenian JV 31-28.
With the win, Head-Royce improved to 8-3 and has won two straight games.