OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce's defense forced 25 turnovers and powered a 51-24 win over Elite on Monday, lifting the Jayhawks to 9-4 this summer. Head-Royce made 20 steals, scored 21 points off turnovers and led 34-8 at halftime. The Jayhawks never trailed.
Head-Royce scored the game's first 10 points. Sanjay Ernst opened with a basket off a turnover, and Alex Jones, Jack Peay and Nick Taubes each followed with baskets off turnovers. Elite's first points came on a second-chance basket that made it 10-2. Peay answered with five straight points on three free throws and a second-chance basket, and Owen Sunwoo's second-chance basket finished a 7-0 run for a 17-2 lead.
Elite pulled within 17-6 on a free throw and a 3-pointer, but that was as close as it got. Head-Royce then ran off 17 straight points. Sunwoo made two free throws, Makaio Popp scored off a turnover and Jones hit a 3-pointer off another turnover. Taubes scored off turnovers on back-to-back possessions, Ernst made two free throws and Boyette-Tindall added a basket off a turnover. Taubes capped the run with a basket off a Boyette-Tindall assist for a 34-6 lead, and Elite scored before halftime to make it 34-8.
Elite opened the second half with two baskets, but Head-Royce kept the margin wide. Ernst scored off a Jones assist, and after an Elite free throw, Waylon Miller had a basket and a free throw before Sunwoo hit a 3-pointer. That 6-0 run made it 42-11, Head-Royce's biggest lead at 31 points. Peay later added a basket and a 3-pointer, Azaan scored inside and Alex Dornbusch's basket put the Jayhawks at 51. Elite scored 16 points in the second half to Head-Royce's 17.
Peay led Head-Royce with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and went 3-for-3 at the line. He also had six rebounds, four of them offensive, and three steals. Taubes scored eight points on 4-of-8 shooting with three assists and two steals, and all four of his field goals came off turnovers in the first half. Boyette-Tindall scored two points but set the tone on defense with seven steals and added four assists. Jones, a junior guard, had five points, four assists and three steals. Sunwoo, also a junior guard, scored seven points off the bench, and Ernst added six.
Head-Royce shot 19-of-47 (40 percent) from the field and went 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Elite shot 9-of-27 (33 percent). The Jayhawks committed only seven turnovers, and Elite scored just two points off them. Head-Royce also won the rebounding battle 21-15, with 11 offensive rebounds. The bench added 16 points, and 10 players scored for the Jayhawks.
With the win, Head-Royce has won two straight and is 9-4 this summer.