OAKLAND, Calif. The Head-Royce boys junior varsity basketball team forced 22 turnovers and turned them into a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers, beating College Prep 71-45 on Tuesday to improve to 10-4.
The Jayhawks never trailed. Owen Sunwoo opened the scoring on an assist from Makaio Popp, and College Prep tied it three times in the early going, at 2-2, 4-4 and 14-14, the last on a 3-pointer. Head-Royce answered the final tie right away. Clayton Sonne scored off a turnover and Kian Patel hit a second-chance 3-pointer for a 19-14 lead.
After College Prep cut it to 19-16, Head-Royce took control with a 10-0 run. John Wheeler and Patel hit back-to-back 3-pointers, both set up by Sonne, then Sonne scored and Sunwoo finished a layup off a turnover for a 29-16 lead. A 7-0 burst later in the game, built on two baskets by Azaan Zaka and a Wheeler 3-pointer off a Sunwoo feed, pushed the margin to 43-25.
College Prep got within 50-36, but the Jayhawks put the game away with an 11-0 run. Popp opened it with a free throw, Sunwoo followed with a second-chance 3-pointer and a basket off a turnover, Wheeler and Zaka scored in succession, and Popp made another free throw to make it 61-36. Head-Royce closed with six straight points, two baskets by Sunwoo around one by Popp, to finish with its largest lead at 71-45.
Sunwoo led the Jayhawks with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including two 3-pointers, and added five steals and four assists. Wheeler posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, going 5 of 7 from the field and 3 of 3 from 3-point range, with three assists and two steals. Zaka scored 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and Jayan Shah added 10 points, five assists and four steals. Popp filled the stat sheet with a team-high 11 rebounds and six assists, while Patel had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Sonne scored all six of the Head-Royce bench points.
The ball movement and defense separated the teams. Head-Royce assisted on 25 of its 30 field goals, compared with six assists for College Prep, and recorded 17 steals while committing 12 turnovers. The Jayhawks shot 46 percent (30 of 65) from the field and made 9 of 22 3-pointers, while College Prep shot 35 percent (17 of 48) and went 2 of 13 from beyond the arc. Head-Royce also won the rebounding battle 36-32, with 13 offensive boards leading to a 10-9 advantage in second-chance points.
The victory was the second of the season over College Prep for Head-Royce, which won the first meeting 57-31 at home on Jan. 16. The Jayhawks have won two straight and stand at 10-4.