After shaking off an early deficit, Jesuit Dallas used another stellar shooting performance to advance in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A Tournament with a 76-55 win over College Park on Friday at University H.S. in Waco, Texas. The Rangers will advance to the regional quarterfinal for the second consecutive year and will battle Rockwall-Heath on Tuesday at Rowlett High School.
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Senior
Marcus Hill hit 5-of-8 three-pointers to finish the contest with 21 points while junior
Max Abmas went 7-of-13 from the floor to close the bout with 21 points, matching Hill's point total. Senior
Reid Hatzmann excelled once again as the Rangers' point guard, logging nine assists to push his weekly total to 19 helpers over the Rangers' two playoff games. Hill, Abmas, senior
Michael Jankovich and senior
Keagan Nwosu grabbed five rebounds apiece while Nwosu added a team-high three blocks.
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Jesuit Dallas (28-5) shot 56.5 percent as a team from the floor and 52.9 percent from three-point range, adding an 88.2 percent conversion rate from the free throw line. The Ranger defense contained the Cavaliers' three-point shooters, holding College park to 6-of-21 behind the arc.
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How it Happened
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- College Park went 3-for-4 in the opening minute to take a seven-point lead early in the contest. Jesuit would come storming back with eight unanswered points of its own to take its first lead of the game.
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- Anchored by the Quentin Grimes, a University of Kansas commit who is the No. 8-ranked prospect in the nation, the Cavaliers took the lead back with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter, shaking off another Jesuit Dallas run with a thunderous dunk that spotted College Park a one-point lead with 6:14 left in the second.
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- Grimes would finish the first half with 18 points, but Jesuit would close out the second quarter with the lead. From Grimes' dunk until the end of the first half, Jesuit shot 6-of-9 and 3-of-4 from three-point range, using a 15-9 run to take a 41-36 lead into the break.
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- A traditional three-point play from senior Joey Preboy jump-started the Rangers after Grimes cut the lead back down to a point, kicking off a 16-11 run that handed Jesuit a 10-point lead with 2:14 left in the third. The final basket of the run was converted in transition when Hatzmann found Hill for a three-pointer after a missed attempt on the other side of the court by College Park.
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- The Jesuit defense would lock down on College Park in the fourth, holding the Cavaliers to 2-of-10 shooting and without a three-pointer while going 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
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Inside the Box Score
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- Jesuit held the lead for 84.5 percent of the contest, overcoming a frantic opening two quarters that saw two ties and 10 lead changes. The Rangers' 21-point final advantage was their highest advantage in the contest.
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- The Rangers' continued defensive success against opposing three-point shooters was on full display. While converting over half of their three-point shots, Jesuit limited College Park to a 6-of-21 evening from behind the arc.
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- Jesuit scored 13 points off of 10 College Park turnovers and saw over 85 percent of its point total recorded by starters. The Rangers also dominated inside the lane, scoring 32 points in the paint compared to the 24 points recorded by the Cavaliers.
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Up Next
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Jesuit will head to Rowlett High School to take on the Rockwall-Heath Hawks on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The Rangers and Hawks met in the In-and-Out Allen Holiday Invitational on Dec. 28, defeating Rockwall-Heath, 84-71. In that contest, the two teams combined for 66 three-point attempts as Heath shot 13-of-37 while the Rangers went 15-of-29. Heath defeated UIL District 9-6A member Coppell, 63-34, in the area round after upending Oak Ridge, 83-54, in the first round.
