Trailing by 14 in the waning moments of the third quarter, the Jesuit Rangers mounted a massive comeback but fell short, 71-67, to the Plano East Panthers on Tuesday at Walsh Gymnasium.
 
The Rangers were led offensively by senior Mitch Prendergast, who set a new career high with 29 points. Finishing the game shooting 12-of-20 from the floor and 3-of-7 from three-point range, Prendergast additionally tied junior Keagan Nwosu's team-high five rebounds. Junior Marcus Hill buried a pair of three-pointers to finish with 12 points, and classmate Reid Hatzmann recorded a full stat line with 10 points, a team-high four assists, a steal and two boards.
 
Jesuit (5-1) scored 17 second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds, tacking on 36 points in the paint. However, the Rangers were held to 7-of-24 from three-point range, while the Panthers (3-5) scored 40 of their 71 points in the paint and benefited from a marginal rebounding advantage.
 
In the first half, the Rangers took the early lead and snagged a six-point advantage after the end of the opening quarter, shooting 58 percent from the floor and 57 percent from beyond the arc. The Panthers moved momentum to their favor with a 13-3 run, to kick-start the second quarter, outscoring Jesuit, 22-9, to take a 36-29 lead into halftime.
 
After Plano East blossomed its lead to 13 points with 6:18 remaining in the third, Jesuit began to heat up, using a 10-2 run to slice the Panthers lead to five. However, the visitors erupted for a potentially game-breaking, 9-0 run culminated by a layup by Mikail Simmons with 36 seconds left to return the lead to 14 points.
 
Jesuit began its comeback attempt in the final moments of the third courtesy of a jumper by Hill, which, combined with fourth quarter layups by Nwosu and senior Jeff Grimes sparked a 12-3 Jesuit run that brought the Rangers to within five.
 
Prendergast took over during the ensuing two minutes, scoring 11 of the Rangers' 13 points over the final 2:14 of the game, converting several acrobatic, highlight-reel layups to keep the Rangers within striking distance and burying a dramatic three-pointer with five seconds left to bring Jesuit to within one point. However, the magic fell just short, as Plano East ended the game with three unanswered points to hand the Rangers their first loss of the year.
 
Jesuit will aim to rebound on Thursday, December 1 in the first round of the 2016 Knights of Columbus Bob Strass Dallas Basketball Tournament. The Rangers will host the Frisco Heritage Coyotes at Walsh Gymnasium, which will also serve as the team's annual Teddy Bear Toss Night.

Any fan who brings a teddy bear to Thursday's game will be granted free admission, and the bears will be tossed onto the gym floor after the Rangers' first basket of the game. All of the proceeds from Thursday's event will go to The Children's Hospital.