Tuesday's exhilarating win over Rockwall-Heath provided Jesuit Dallas with its second consecutive trip to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Regional Tournament, which begins tonight with a regional semifinal clash with state-ranked No. 4 Spring Dekaney on Friday night at Davis Field House in South Dallas. The game will be streamed live on JesuitRangers.org starting at 5:45 p.m. as Evan Oscherwitz '18 and Jack Lynch '19 will call the action.

 
Rangers Escape Heath Rally
Jesuit Dallas matched its longest playoff run in program history with a hard-fought, 71-67 win over Rockwall Heath on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The Rangers will head to Davis Field House on Friday to face state-ranked No. 4 Dekaney in the UIL Regional Semifinal at 6 p.m. Junior Max Abmas scored 28 points for the Rangers, burying 5-of-8 three-pointers and converting 9-of-11 free throws to anchor the Jesuit scoring effort. Seniors Marcus Hill and Michael Jankovich added 15 points apiece, and classmate Joey Preboy led the team with 11 rebounds. Senior Reid Hatzmann logged six assists with seven points, helping anchor a Jesuit unit that shot 45.1 percent from the floor and out-rebounded Heath, 31-27.
 
Postseason Excellence
Through Jesuit's three playoff wins this year, the Rangers have outscored opponents by 13.7 points per game, averaging 70.0 points per game to secure a second consecutive regional tournament berth. Abmas currently leads the charge with 19.7 points per game, followed by 17.7 points from Jankovich and 14.3 points from Hill. Hatzmann, who earned Ranger of the Week honors on Monday, has 25 assists to his credit, averaging over eight assists per game for the Blue and Gold. Preboy has dragged down a team-leading 16 rebounds during the streak, helping Jesuit to a 5.3 rebounding advantage. Jesuit has especially excelled in the final five minutes of each contest, shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and, more importantly, 21-of-26 from the free-throw line to keep late leads intact.
 
Scouting Dekaney
A game-winning three-pointer from senior Malcom Epps sent the Wildcats past Klein Forest, 73-72, in a UIL Region 2-6A quarterfinal on Tuesday in Houston. Epps finished the contest 11-of-17 from the floor with 28 points, anchoring a Dekaney comeback in which the Wildcats outscored the Eagles, 28-22 in the fourth quarter to earn its fourth regional semifinal berth in program history. Last season, Dekaney dropped a 60-49 decision to Skyline in the regional semi, but enter the 2018 regional tournament with a 34-3 record and a No. 16 national ranking according to MaxPreps.
 
Epps currently leads the team with 15.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game, and is one of five Wildcats to average double digits. Senior point guard D.J. Peavy (14.1 ppg), sophomore Micah Peavy (13.8 ppg), senior Kobe Shorter (12.0 ppg) and senior Aren Thomas (10.7 ppg) are also vaunted scoring threats for the Dekaney offense. The Wildcats upended Spring Woods, 61-50 in the bi-district round before upending Round Rock Westwood, 70-52 prior to Tuesday's instant classic.
 
Up Next
The winner of Friday's game will advance to play either South Garland or Aldine Eisenhower in the UIL Region 2-6A Final on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Davis Field House. A matchup between two state-ranked teams, South Garland won the UIL District 10-6A title and enter the regional tournament with a 34-3 record, upending J.J. Pearce in the regional quarterfinal, and is ranked No. 23 in the nation and seventh in the state according to MaxPreps. Eisenhower is currently 30-7 and ranked No. 15 in the state according to the final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) poll.