Sophomore Max Abmas buried a career-high 26 points, hitting 7-of-12 three-pointers, but a sharp-shooting Little Elm Lobos team handed Jesuit an 81-76 setback on Tuesday at Little Elm High School.
 
Abmas usurped his previous career best of 15 points, logged earlier this season in the Frisco Lone Star Shootout against OKC Storm, finishing the game shooting 8-of-17 from the field, 3-of-4 from the charity stripe while snagging a pair of rebounds. Senior Mitch Prendergast dragged down a team-high eight rebounds while recording his fifth consecutive double digit scoring performance with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Fellow fourth year Jacob Palisch added a season-best 15 points, and junior Marcus Hill closed out the bout scoring eight points.
 
The Rangers (7-3) collected 12 offensive rebounds, scoring 19 second chance points, while adding 19 more points from 13 Little Elm turnovers. Overall, the Rangers shot 48.4 percent from the floor, but Little Elm edged the Blue and Gold in overall shooting, converting 60 percent (30-of-50) of their attempts.
 
Little Elm gained control from the beginning of the contest, taking an 8-2 lead three minutes in. Jesuit battled back, trading baskets to keep the deficit to five points, but a seven-point swing gave the Lobos (7-3) their first double digit lead of the game with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Prendergast found Palisch for a conventional three-point play as the first quarter buzzer sounded, slicing the lead to seven.
 
In the second, the two teams continued to play back-and-forth until another late Little Elm run positioned the Lobos with a seven-point lead at the break. During the second half, the Lobos continued to keep a Ranger rally at bay, winning the third quarter, 16-13 despite the Rangers' defense holding Little Elm without a three-point basket. Trailing by 13 at the beginning of the fourth, Jesuit mounted its final assault on the Lobo lead, cutting the deficit to five with 18 seconds left, but were unable to get any closer before the final buzzer sounded.
 
Jesuit will next take on the reigning University Interscholastic League (UIL) 4A State Champion Lincoln Tigers on Saturday at Lincoln High School. The 4:30 p.m. tip-off will be the second time this season that the Blue and Gold have faced a 2016 UIL State Champion; Jesuit knocked off defending UIL 6A State Champion DeSoto, 71-53, on November 21 at the Lone Star Shootout.