OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce came back from 10 points down but fell 66-64 to Bentley on Wednesday, Feb. 11, and dropped to 12-11 on the season. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field, but Bentley made 15 free throws to seven for the Jayhawks, and that gap decided the game.
Freshman Tucker Peay scored the game's first basket off a turnover, and the teams were tied at 2-2 and 4-4 before Head-Royce took control. With the Jayhawks up 12-11, Peay hit a 3-pointer on a pass from Nick Taubes, Idan Benharush made a free throw and Sanjay Ernst made three straight free throws. That 7-0 run put Head-Royce ahead 19-11, its biggest lead of the night.
Bentley slowly cut into the lead and tied it at 31-31 with two free throws. Sam Gulaid made a free throw and Taubes added a basket for a 34-31 lead, but Bentley tied it again with a 3-pointer. A Peay basket off a turnover put Head-Royce back in front at 36-34. Bentley answered with an 8-0 run, taking its first lead at 37-36 in the game's only lead change and pulling ahead 42-36. Peay hit a 3-pointer and Taubes scored off a turnover to make it 42-41, but Bentley then scored eight straight, four of those points off turnovers, and led 50-41. Bentley's lead reached 10 at 57-47.
The Jayhawks did not quit. Baskets by Taubes and Benharush made it 57-51, and Bentley scored only from the free-throw line the rest of the way. Taubes hit a 3-pointer to make it 60-56, and Ernst made a 3-pointer on a Taubes assist to make it 62-59. Peay's basket cut the lead to 64-61. After another Bentley free throw, Ernst hit his second 3-pointer of the stretch, again assisted by Taubes, to make it 65-64. Bentley made one more free throw to finish the scoring.
Peay led Head-Royce with 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds. Taubes scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added nine assists and two steals. Ernst scored 11 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting, went 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and made all three of his free throws. Ezra Goldfarb had two points and four rebounds, two of them on the offensive glass.
Head-Royce shot 25 of 50 from the field and 7 of 21 from 3-point range, while Bentley shot 23 of 46. The Jayhawks had more assists (15 to 8) and fewer turnovers (6 to 11), and they outscored Bentley 10-8 on points off turnovers. Bentley won the battle inside, outrebounding Head-Royce 26-18, grabbing seven offensive rebounds to four and outscoring the Jayhawks 6-4 on second-chance points. Head-Royce was called for 23 fouls to Bentley's nine, and Bentley went 15 of 23 from the line while the Jayhawks went 7 of 11. The Head-Royce bench scored 18 points.
It was the second two-point home loss to Bentley this season, after a 38-36 loss on Saturday, Jan. 31. Head-Royce is now 12-11.