OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce climbed back from a 10-point deficit and took a late lead, but Bentley hit a 3-pointer on the final scoring play of the game to beat the Jayhawks 38-36 on Saturday. The loss dropped Head-Royce to 10-10. The Jayhawks made 15 of 55 shots from the field, and that left them little room for error in a game that was tied four times.
Bentley scored first before Sam Gulaid tied it at 2 on a feed from Nick Taubes. Taubes then hit a second-chance 3-pointer, set up by Gulaid, for a 5-4 Head-Royce lead. Bentley answered with an 11-0 run that included three straight 3-pointers and went ahead 15-5.
After a Tucker Peay basket off a turnover and two Bentley free throws made it 17-7, the Jayhawks scored six straight points. Peay scored on an assist from Tua Montoya, Sanjay Ernst added a second-chance basket off a Peay pass, and Peay converted another turnover on a feed from Taubes to cut the deficit to 17-13. Bentley pulled away again. A Taubes 3-pointer and baskets from Ezra Goldfarb and Peay kept Head-Royce within reach, but Bentley went 5-for-5 on free throws during one stretch and led 31-22.
Head-Royce then tied the game with a 9-0 run. Peay made a free throw and followed with a 3-pointer on a pass from Montoya, Ernst hit a 3-pointer off a Peay assist, and Taubes scored to make it 31-31. Peay tied it again at 33 on another Montoya assist, and Taubes tied it at 35 with a basket. Taubes then made a free throw for a 36-35 lead, Head-Royce's first since 5-4. Bentley answered with a 3-pointer that decided the game.
Peay, a freshman, posted a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass, and added two assists. Taubes scored 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and added three assists and three blocks without a turnover. Montoya handed out four assists. Off the bench, Ernst scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting and had two steals, and Loryan Boyette-Tindall grabbed five rebounds and made four steals.
Head-Royce outrebounded Bentley 32-22, grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and outscored the visitors 7-0 on second-chance points. The Jayhawks forced nine turnovers, committed eight and held a 4-2 edge in points off turnovers. Shooting and free throws were the difference. Head-Royce shot 27.3 percent from the field and 4-of-23 from 3-point range, while Bentley shot 30 percent and made 5 of 21 from deep. Bentley went 9-for-15 at the free-throw line, and Head-Royce went 2-for-5.
The result was much closer than the teams' first meeting, a 66-50 Bentley win in Oakland on Jan. 21. Head-Royce (10-10) hosts Bentley again on Wednesday, Feb. 11.