Jesuit Dallas defeated reigning state champion and state top-ranked Allen, 78-72 on Wednesday at a packed Lowery Freshman Center to move to 2-0 in district play. The Rangers, anchored by a pair of 20-point performances, secure their eighth win of the year against a state-ranked opponent and remain tied for first in the district heading into the second half of the season.
 
Senior Max Abmas scored 24 points, hitting five three-pointers while shooting 8-of-19 from the floor. Sophomore Gavin Perryman tacked on a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a 6-for-6 clip from the free-throw line. Senior Connor Wilson buried a trio of three-pointers to finish with nine points, senior Anthony Hollerich added eight points and senior John Phillips hit a pair of three-pointers to close out the bout with six points.
 
Junior Darryl Brown dragged down a team-high seven rebounds and blocked two shots while junior Eli Steger provided a spark with two points, two boards, a block and a steal. Wilson added a team-leading five assists while securing two steals, helping Jesuit to a 44.1 percent clip from the floor.
 
The two teams battled back and forth in the opening half as the Rangers hit seven three-pointers and shot 46.7 percent in the opening half. Allen out-rebounded Jesuit, 25-12 in the first and were led by Isaiah Stevens, who scored 23 first-half points to lead all scorers. The Eagles saw Allen score 11 second-chance points, but Jesuit tacked on eight points off of Eagle turnovers.
 
Perryman helped lead the Rangers into the lead during the third, scoring 13 points in the quarter to take a 56-47 lead into the fourth. Jesuit shot 8-of-16 in the third and buried five three-pointers while holding Allen to 12 points. From the 3:52 mark of the third quarter to the 5:53 mark of the fourth, Jesuit was able to take control of the game for good with an 18-6 run.
 
Allen held Jesuit without a field goal for a two-minute span in the fourth quarter and had the opportunity to close the gap but shot 2-of-6 from the floor and 0-for-2 from three-point range as the Rangers kept a seven-point lead with 3:11 remaining in the contest.
 
The Eagles cut the gap to two with a jumper, stolen inbounds pass and a traditional three-point play, but the Rangers closed out the contest with a 13-9, game-clinching run. Jesuit converted 10-of-13 free-throw attempts over the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter to earn the victory.
 
Jesuit will return home on Saturday and are set to welcome Plano to Walsh Gym for a 2:30 p.m. tip-off. Plano defeated Plano East, 55-48, on Wednesday to open district with a 1-1 mark following a 66-58 setback to McKinney on Dec. 21.