Jesuit Dallas staged a furious fourth-quarter rally, but a 14-point deficit late in the third quarter proved too much to overcome as the Rangers dropped their first district bout of the season, 63-59, to Plano West on Tuesday. Senior Max Abmas set a new career-high in scoring to help pace the Rangers during the comeback attempt, but 14 turnovers played a role in the Wolves snapping the Rangers' four-game winning streak.
 
Abmas hit four three-pointers, shooting 13-of-23 from the floor while logging a team-leading two steals to surpass his previous career-high of 31 points, achieved on three occasions, most recently against Plano on Jan. 5. Senior Julius Marble scored 12 points, secured a team-leading nine rebounds and blocked three shots to aid the Ranger effort while classmate Connor Wilson added a pair of three-pointers, finishing the contest with six points.
 
The Rangers were held to eight three-pointers, shooting 25.6 percent from three-point range. Jesuit's defense contained Plano West to a 3-of-14 clip from behind the arc, but the Wolves were able to secure 28 points in the paint, 11 second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds and 19 points off of Jesuit turnovers to secure the win.
 
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half as Plano West took a 14-13 lead after the opening eight minutes. In the second quarter, Jesuit was held without a field goal for over four minutes while Plano West used a 14-0 run to take an 11-point lead in the final minute of the first half. A three-pointer by Marble at the halftime buzzer limited the deficit to eight points going into the third quarter. Plano West out-scored Jesuit, 16-7, in the second quarter, forcing four Jesuit turnovers while holding the Rangers to 2-of-9 from the floor.
 
Trailing by 13 points with 6:41 remaining in the third, the Rangers scored four straight points off of back-to-back buckets by Abmas to bring Jesuit to within double-digits. The Wolves' defense struck again over the final two minutes of the quarter, holding Jesuit without a basket from the 2:16 mark until the last 14 seconds of the quarter, allowing Plano West to send the game into the fourth quarter holding a 46-35 lead.
 
Jesuit began its rally at the 7:06 mark, using a 12-4 run to reduce the lead to five with 3:50 remaining. Plano West would return the lead to six points with 2:55 remaining, but Jesuit refused to go away as a jumper from Abmas and a layup from senior Anthony Hollerich got the Rangers to within three points with 1:21 left.
 
A three-pointer from Abmas with 45 seconds cut the lead to one and brought the Rangers to the precipice, but the Wolves shut the Rangers out over the final 45 seconds to clinch the victory.
 
The Rangers will aim to rebound on Friday, Jan. 18 against McKinney Boyd at Walsh Gymnasium. The Broncos enter Friday's bout with a 1-5 record in district following a 73-60 loss to Plano East on Tuesday. Friday's contest will be live streamed on JesuitRangers.org, with Jack Lynch '19 and Nash Crawford '20 calling the action.