OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce went 17 of 21 at the free-throw line while Piedmont went 1 of 2, and the Jayhawks used that 16-point edge to beat Piedmont 54-46 on Monday and improve to 8-4 this summer.
Sanjay Ernst scored the game's first basket on an assist from Loryan Boyette-Tindall. Piedmont answered with a two and a three to take a 5-2 lead, its largest of the night. Head-Royce then scored eight straight points. Jack Peay made two free throws, Ernst scored off a turnover to put the Jayhawks ahead 6-5, and Boyette-Tindall and Waylon Miller each made two free throws. Head-Royce led 10-5 after one quarter and never trailed again.
Piedmont kept firing from long range in the second quarter, and Head-Royce kept answering. Nas Khan hit a three and Miller followed with a basket to make it 17-11. After another Piedmont three cut the lead to 21-20, Peay answered with a three of his own. Free throws from Boyette-Tindall and Nick Taubes helped the Jayhawks take a 28-22 lead into halftime.
Taubes scored early in the third quarter to make it 30-22, and two free throws from Ernst pushed the lead to 34-26. Piedmont answered with a 6-0 run to pull within 34-32, and a three a few possessions later made it 36-35. Peay then scored on a second-chance basket and added a basket off a turnover, assisted by Boyette-Tindall, to push the lead back to 40-35. Miller's three off a feed from Taubes made it 45-40 after three quarters.
Taubes opened the fourth quarter with a basket for a 47-40 lead. Piedmont made another three, but Peay scored and made two free throws to push the lead back to eight at 51-43. Piedmont hit one more three, and Taubes scored and Boyette-Tindall made a free throw to close out the win.
Peay led Head-Royce with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, adding nine rebounds and making 4 of 5 free throws without a turnover. Taubes scored 12 points, made all four of his free throws and handed out three assists without a turnover. Miller scored 9 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting. Boyette-Tindall filled the box score with 7 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals, and he made 5 of 6 free throws. Ernst added 6 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Khan hit his only shot, a three.
Piedmont made 9 of 26 threes and outrebounded Head-Royce 23-22, but it committed 10 turnovers to the Jayhawks' four. Head-Royce scored 6 points off turnovers and allowed none. The Jayhawks shot 39.5 percent from the field to Piedmont's 36 percent, blocked five shots and got 12 points from their bench. Head-Royce is now 8-4.