OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce forced 18 turnovers and erased an early nine-point deficit as the Jayhawks beat Athenian 56-42 on Friday to improve to 9-8. Head-Royce turned those takeaways into a 13-4 edge in points off turnovers and gave the ball away only six times.
Athenian started fast. Nick Taubes tied the game at 2 with a basket off a turnover, set up by Tucker Peay, but Athenian then scored 10 of the next 11 points, hitting two 3-pointers, to lead 12-3. Jack Peay scored on a feed from Sanjay Ernst, and Tua Montoya hit a 3-pointer, also from Ernst, to make it 12-8. Athenian still led 16-10 when Head-Royce took over.
The Jayhawks scored the next 10 points. Montoya hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Ezra Goldfarb, and Ernst scored off a turnover, again assisted by Goldfarb. Ernst then made a free throw to tie the game at 16. Taubes followed with a basket for Head-Royce's first lead, 18-16, and Tucker Peay converted a Loryan Boyette-Tindall assist off a turnover to make it 20-16. Athenian tied it at 22, but Head-Royce answered with an 8-0 run. Montoya scored on a basket and a free throw, Taubes hit a 3-pointer from Ernst, and Montoya added another basket for a 30-22 lead. Athenian never pulled even again.
Head-Royce kept building the lead. Boyette-Tindall scored twice in a row, the second on a putback, to make it 34-24, and Montoya hit a 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Taubes, then made a free throw for a 38-26 cushion. With the score at 41-32, the Jayhawks ran off six straight points: Taubes scored, Jack Peay finished a Taubes assist off a turnover, and Taubes converted a pass from Jack Peay for a 47-32 lead. Montoya later set up Ernst for a basket and Tucker Peay for a 3-pointer that made it 54-36, the Jayhawks' largest lead at 18. Goldfarb's basket off a turnover accounted for Head-Royce's final points.
Montoya, a freshman, led Head-Royce with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and added three assists without a turnover. Taubes scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Goldfarb had five steals off the bench to go with four points, four rebounds and two assists. Ernst posted six points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists, while Boyette-Tindall added six points and three steals.
Head-Royce shot 41 percent (23 of 56) from the field and assisted on 16 of its 23 field goals. The Jayhawks totaled 11 steals, and the bench of Ernst, Goldfarb and Jack Peay combined for 14 points. Athenian won the rebounding battle 32-26 but shot 38 percent from the field and made just 2 of 14 attempts from 3-point range.
Head-Royce (9-8) returns home to host St. Joseph Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 29.