A pair of 20-point performances helped Jesuit Dallas battle its way to a 68-65 win over W.T. White on Tuesday, earning its second consecutive University Interscholastic League (UIL) District 9-6A victory to remain in second place heading into a key home matchup against Berkner on Friday.
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Senior
Marcus Hill hit four three-pointers and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, scoring 24 points for his third 20-point performance of the year while adding a team-leading eight rebounds. Junior
Max Abmas added 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, converting four three-pointers and five free-throws. Senior
Chris Horton and junior
Connor Wilson picked up four assists apiece, with Wilson adding a squad-leading three steals.
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Jesuit (18-3, 3-1) shot 47.5 from the floor, 45.5 percent from behind the arc and 83.3 from the charity stripe in the win. Outrebounding W.T. White (2-14, 1-3), 29-25, Jesuit scored 15 turnovers off of 13 Longhorn turnovers while leading for 86.7 percent of the contest.
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How it Happened
- The Rangers hit three of their first five shots to take a 10-2 to kick off the contest. W.T. White came rushing back to cut the lead to four before the Rangers closed the quarter with a 16-11 lead.
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- Junior Anthony Hollerich hit a jumper to start the second, but W.T. White captured the quarter with a 22-15 advantage to enter the break leading by one point. Abmas closed the half by hitting a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to help snap a 7-2 W.T. White run.
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- Hill opened the second half by scoring a jumper and three-pointer to spark an 11-3 run that handed the Blue and Gold a seven-point lead midway through the third quarter.
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- The Rangers were limited to 4-of-13 from the floor over the final 12:35 of the contest but were able to draw nine trips to the free throw line to hang on for the victory. Hill scored 14 points over the final stretch of the game while the Rangers warded off a late comeback by W.T. White by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final minute.
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Inside the Box Score
- The Blue and Gold have excelled from the floor in their three district wins this season, posting field goal percentages of 45 percent or more against Coppell (46.4), Lake Highlands (51.2) and W.T. White (47.5).
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- Jesuit has continued its strong season from the free throw line, converting 74.3 percent of attempts from the charity stripe through 21 games this season. The Rangers have earned 20 or more free-throw attempts 11 times this season and have accomplished the feat in four of their last five games.
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Up Next
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Jesuit will welcome Berkner to Walsh Gym on Friday, Jan. 12 for the team's annual "White Out" game. The Rangers and Rams will tip off at 7:30 p.m. for the first of back-to-back home contests.
