A stellar effort on the offensive glass and two 18-point performances sent Jesuit Dallas to a 56-48 victory over McKinney on Friday, Feb. 1 at Walsh Gym. The Rangers shook off a determined upset bid from the Lions to keep a hold on first place of University Interscholastic League (UIL) District 9-6A with three games remaining in the district schedule.

Senior Julius Marble scored 18 points while securing a career-high 17 rebounds. In the win, Marble secures his seventh double-double of the year and closes the week averaging 20.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in wins over Plano and the Lions. Senior Max Abmas added 18 points of his own, hitting four three-pointers to lead the team. Sophomore Gavin Perryman scored seven assists on the day, adding nine points to the Jesuit effort. Senior Anthony Hollerich scored nine points, and senior Connor Wilson concluded the Ranger scoring with three points of his own.
 
Jesuit (24-5, 9-2) out-rebounded McKinney (9-12, 5-6), 42-24 and snagged 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second-chance points. Perryman led the team with four offensive rebounds as Hollerich and Wilson added three offensive boards apiece.
 
The Lions buried three of their first four shots to take an early, 7-3 lead two minutes into the opening quarter. The Rangers found their shot at the midway point of the opening stanza, as a pair of three-pointers from Hollerich cut the McKinney lead to 16-13 going into the second quarter. A thunderous dunk from Marble gave Jesuit its first lead with 6:28 remaining in the second, but the two teams combined for only 14 points in the quarter, sending McKinney into the halftime break with a 22-21 lead.
 
Jesuit hit four three-pointers in the third quarter, winning the period, 18-13 to build a four-point lead going into the fourth. The Rangers would put the game away with a 13-5, fourth quarter-opening run, as the Rangers shot 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range over the first five minutes of the final quarter.
 
The Rangers will head into the homestretch of the season tied with Allen for first place in the district, although Jesuit owns the in-season tiebreaker after the season sweep of the Eagles. Jesuit will travel to Plano East on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. clash before returning to Walsh Gym for the final regular season home game against Plano West on Friday.