Jesuit Dallas advanced to the finals of the 56^th Annual Knights of Columbus Bob Strass Dallas Basketball Classic with a pair of convincing wins against opponents on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. The Rangers posted a new season-high in scoring during a 93-63 win over MacArthur before advancing to the final with a 70-53 victory against state-ranked No. 5-4A Lincoln on Friday. The Rangers will play Mesquite in the tournament final at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 1.
 
Vs. Lincoln – Nov. 30
 
The Rangers jumped out to a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, securing a decisive victory for their second win over the Tigers this season following an 89-57 win at the Lone Star Classic with a 70-53 triumph in the Knights of Columbus semifinal. Senior Anthony Hollerich scored a team-leading 16 points, followed by 15 points from sophomore Gavin Perryman and 15 points from senior Max Abmas.
 
Senior Julius Marble secured his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, tacking on three huge blocks against the Tigers. Jesuit shot 60 percent from the floor while the Rangers' defense held Lincoln to a 38.2 percent clip and a 20-percent conversion rate from three-point range. Jesuit scored 17 points off of 11 Lincoln turnovers and added 12 second-chance points on 10 offensive boards.
 
The first quarter marked an annual tradition as a layup from Marble sparked the commencement of the annual teddy bear toss. A packed house participated as hundreds of bears will be donated to the Dallas Children's' Hospital. Several angles of the annual Teddy Bear Toss can be seen below:

#TeddyBearToss @jesuitdallas @JesuitAthletics @JCPBasketball pic.twitter.com/5sQGvwyHZi

— The Roundup (@JesuitRoundup) December 1, 2018

 

Thank you to everyone who participated! All donations going to Children's Hospital #TeddyBearToss pic.twitter.com/T6CcOJ6Ikl

— Jesuit Dallas (@jesuitdallas) December 1, 2018

 
Jesuit exhibited similar success to Thursday's victory against MacArthur, closing out the first quarter with a 20-8 lead. The Rangers scored a pair of fast break baskets, one from Perryman and the other from Abmas, over the final 1:26 of the first to take the controlling lead into the second. The two teams traded baskets in the second quarter, leading to Jesuit taking a 34-20 lead into the halftime break.
 
In the third quarter, Marble scored back-to-back buckets to spot the Blue and Gold an 18-point lead. Lincoln continued its attempt to slice into the Ranger advantage, but Jesuit was able to maintain a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter after Hollerich buried a three-pointer at the buzzer. A dunk by Marble at the 4:07 mark of the fourth quarter gave the Rangers a 20-point lead and sent Jesuit to the championship game.
 
Vs. MacArthur – Nov. 29
 
Abmas kicked off the tournament with 28 points against the Cardinals, posting a new season-high in scoring and falling four points shy of his career-high of 32 points. Abmas shot 11-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-4 from three-point range to anchor the Jesuit offensive effort. Hollerich tacked on 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting as fellow fourth year Julius Marble posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jesuit forced 10 turnovers, scoring 10 points off of MacArthur miscues while adding 38 points in the paint. The Rangers out-rebounded the Cardinals, 42-24 as junior Eli Steger and senior John Phillips snagged five rebounds each. Abmas and Marble shared the team lead with three assists, followed by three helpers from junior Darryl Brown, who joined senior Mac McCormick with three blocks.
 
In the first quarter, Jesuit built a double-digit lead with 4:47 remaining after sophomore Gavin Perryman scored a fast break bucket. The Rangers would finish the quarter with a 24-12 lead to end the first before dominating in the second quarter, outscoring the Cardinals, 27-9 to take a 51-21 advantage into halftime. Jesuit shot an astounding 73.1 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from three-point range while holding MacArthur to 1-of-9 from behind the arc.
 
Jesuit kept a decisive lead throughout the second half, tying the Cardinals, 42-42 in the third and fourth quarter aggregate score. MacArthur improved to 41.7 percent shooting in the second half while the Rangers kept the pressure on MacArthur with a 51.9 percent clip from the field.
Alftime break.
 
 
Up Next
 
The Rangers and Skeeters will face off for the second time this season in the tournament championship game on Saturday. Jesuit defeated Mesquite, 75-59 in the first meeting between the two squads on November 13, led by 19 points from Marble and 16 points from Abmas, Perryman and Hollerich. Mesquite's Cody LeBlanc scored a team-leading 23 points to lead the Skeeters, who defeated Frisco Lone Star and Nolan Catholic to clinch its tournament championship berth.