Jesuit Dallas withstood a defensive onslaught from Killeen Ellison, hanging onto an early 22-8 lead to advance in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A Tournament with a hard-fought, 56-51 triumph over the Eagles on Friday night in West, Texas. With the victory, Jesuit will battle South Garland in the UIL Regional Quarterfinal on Tuesday at Allen High School.
 
Entering the contest ranked No. 7 in the state, Jesuit was led by senior Julius Marble, who scored 22 points and added 15 rebounds. Marble concludes a phenomenal week averaging 25.5 points and 15.5 rebounds over Jesuit's first two playoff games, adding six blocks, four assists, a 65.6 percent shooting percentage and 85.7 from the free-throw line. Senior Max Abmas added 15 points to the Jesuit effort and made several critical free-throws to help Jesuit clinch the win. Senior John Phillips hit two key three-pointers during Jesuit's critical second-quarter run, sophomore Gavin Perryman grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and senior Anthony Hollerich racked up nine points and two assists.
 
Marble blocked Ellison's opening shot and slammed home an offensive rebound to spot the Rangers an early, 5-3 lead roughly two minutes into the opening quarter. The two teams stood at a 5-5 tie with 4:31 remaining in the opening quarter before a jumper by Hollerich sparked a 1-3 run which saw Jesuit shoot 7-of-14 over a five-minute span while holding Ellison to a 1-of-8 clip from a field to send the Rangers to a 22-8 lead with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Ellison's comeback began with a 14-7 run which closed the first half, sending the two teams into the break with Jesuit holding a 29-22 lead. The Eagles continued the pressure in the second half, hitting six of their first 10 shots to cut the lead to three with 3:33 left in the third. Abmas hit a key three-pointer on Jesuit's ensuing possession, the team's first three-pointer of the second half, before a Marble dunk at the 1:09 mark gave the Rangers a five-point lead after three quarters.
 
The Eagles nearly completed their comeback with an 8-4 run to open the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 47-46 with 4:37 left. However, layups by Hollerich and Marble on Jesuit's next two possessions put the Rangers in position to clinch the victory with 2:52 left in regulation. Jesuit finished the game converting five of six free-throw attempts over the last 1:42, beginning with two key free-throws from Hollerich.
 
In the final seconds of the game, Perryman intercepted a pass at mid-court which resulted in additional free-throw attempts for Abmas, then earned two free-throws of his own with 15 seconds remaining to give Jesuit a 56-50 lead with 15 seconds remaining to ice the game for the Blue and Gold.
 
Tuesday's regional quarterfinal showdown between Jesuit and South Garland will mark the first time that the two teams have met since last year's regional championship, a bout won by South Garland, 65-50, on Mar. 3, 2018. The Colonels, ranked seventh in the state, escaped Waco Midway in overtime on Friday via a 60-53 win after upending UIL District 9-6A member Prosper, 80-55 in the bi-district round.