The Rangers dropped a pair of contests directly before and after the Thanksgiving break, two games which served as the final warmup prior to next weekend's 57th Annual Knights of Columbus Bob Stras Dallas Classic. The Blue and Gold fell to Mansfield Summit, 46-34, on Nov. 30 before dropping a 56-44 decision to Rockwall Heath in their second home game of the season on Dec. 3.
 
Vs. Mansfield Summit
 
Junior Gavin Perryman scored 14 points to lead the charge against Summit as senior Eli Steger followed with six points. Jesuit out-rebounded Summit, 26-20, as Steger, Perryman, juniors Reid Lynch, Conor Moore and senior Darryl Brown pulled down four rebounds each. Brown added a team-high three assists and blocked a shot. However, the Rangers turned the ball over 27 times, which resulted in 28 points for Summit.
 
Jesuit took a three-point lead 1:57 remaining in the first quarter off of a three-pointer by junior Cal Linn, but Summit hit a three of its own to tie the game at 9-9 heading into the second quarter. The Rangers remained in the lead during the early portions of the second quarter, but Summit took the lead with 2:27 left in the first half. The Jaguars built a six-point lead with 55 seconds left in the second quarter before Steger raced in for a layup to cut the lead with four heading into the halftime break.
 
Summit scored six unanswered points to start the third quarter, taking a nine-point lead at 25-16 with 6:36 remaining in the third. Perryman knocked down a jumper and three-pointer over the next two minutes to cut the lead to five, but Summit was able to hold the Rangers at bay to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. Summit pushed the lead to double digits early in the fourth and pulled away from the Rangers in the waning moments to clinch the win.
 
Vs. Rockwall-Heath
 
Perryman added 22 points against Heath, shooting 7-of-14 from the floor. Brown would secure a team-leading seven rebounds and two blocks while tacking on six points while Moore added seven points and four rebounds. Jesuit Dallas finished the game shooting 36.8 percent from the floor but struggled from outside the arc and closed the game with a 3-of-17 clip from three-point range.
 
Neither team scored over the first three minutes of the opening quarter before Heath started the scoring with a layup. Senior Luke Lucido buried a three-pointer to give Jesuit its first lead of the game as the teams continued to build momentum. Perryman converted a layup at the buzzer to send Jesuit into the second trailing Heath by a point.
 
Heath hit its stride in the second quarter, building a five-point lead with 1:58 left in the opening half. However, Perryman drew a foul with 1:29 left, hitting both free throws, then converted a traditional three-point play as time expired in the second quarter to send the game into the break tied, 20-20.
 
The Hawks opened the third quarter on an eight-point run to regain the lead, but Jesuit continued to battle throughout the third. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Heath sent Jesuit into the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit. Junior Cal Lin raced in for a layup to start the fourth, but Heath responded with a 6-2 run to take a 12-point lead with 4:53 left. Heath would not relinquish the double-digit lead over the final portion of the game to clinch the win.
 
Up Next
 
Jesuit will host the 57th Annual Bob Stras Knights of Columbus Dallas Classic on Thursday, welcoming Tascosa, Lincoln, ESD, Lone Star, Harker Heights, MacArthur and Mesquite to Walsh Gym for the three-day, 12-game tournament set to start at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The Rangers will play their first game of the tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday as the Blue and Gold will battle MacArthur.