OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce fell behind 11-0 before scoring and never caught up, losing 70-57 to Cornerstone Christian on Tuesday night. The loss evened the Jayhawks' record at 9-9. Cornerstone Christian also won the first meeting between the teams, 74-65 in Oakland on Jan. 9.
Cornerstone Christian scored the first 11 points, starting with a basket off a turnover. Freshman Tua Montoya got Head-Royce going with a 3-pointer and a free throw, then hit another 3-pointer to make it 13-7. Sam Gulaid's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 15-10, but Cornerstone Christian answered with a 7-0 run for a 22-10 lead. After baskets by Jack Peay and Tucker Peay made it 25-17, the visitors scored eight straight points, capped by a 3-pointer off a turnover, to build their biggest lead at 33-17.
Head-Royce climbed back from there. Tucker Peay scored seven straight points for the Jayhawks, including a basket off a turnover and a 3-pointer. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jack Peay and Tucker Peay made it 38-31, and Montoya's third 3-pointer cut it to 39-34. Nick Taubes then hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to pull Head-Royce within 42-39, its closest since the game's opening minutes.
Cornerstone Christian answered with six straight points, including a basket off a turnover and a second-chance basket, to go up 48-39. The Jayhawks kept it close for the next several minutes and trailed 61-57 after a second-chance 3-pointer by Tucker Peay, set up by Montoya. That was as close as they got. Cornerstone Christian scored the last nine points, starting with another second-chance basket, and Head-Royce did not score again.
Tucker Peay led Head-Royce with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. The freshman added nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Montoya had 13 points and a team-high seven assists and hit 3 of 8 from beyond the arc. Taubes scored eight points, and Jack Peay had seven points and seven rebounds off the bench. Ezra Goldfarb added three points, three assists and two steals.
Head-Royce shot 38.5 percent (20 of 52) from the field. Cornerstone Christian shot 47.3 percent (26 of 55). The Jayhawks made 11 3-pointers to the visitors' six, but Cornerstone Christian made up the difference at the free throw line (12 of 18 to 6 of 11) and on the glass. The visitors outrebounded Head-Royce 30-24, including 9-7 on the offensive glass, and outscored the Jayhawks 8-3 in second-chance points. Both teams had 17 assists, and Cornerstone Christian scored 7 points off turnovers to Head-Royce's 4. The Head-Royce bench added 12 points.
Head-Royce (9-9) hosts St. Joseph Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 29.