A passionate crowd and hardened defensive effort brought the Rangers to the brink of a district championship with a 50-45 win over Plano West on Friday evening. Jesuit Dallas finishes the regular season with a 13-0 record at Walsh Gym with the win, celebrating a group of nine senior student-athletes who secured their 79th win as a class in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
 
Senior Max Abmas scored 19 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-7 from behind the arc while leading the team with five steals and three assists. Fellow fourth-year Julius Marble secured a team-leading 16 rebounds, falling one shy of his career-high set last Friday against McKinney. Senior Connor Wilson hit two three-pointers and two key free throws in the fourth quarter, adding an assist and two rebounds. Sophomore Gavin Perryman scored seven points, senior Anthony Hollerich scored five points and junior Eli Steger tacked on two points.
 
Jesuit's defense locked down on Plano West in the second half, holding the Wolves to 27.3 percent from the floor and 2-of-6 from three-point range after Plano West shot 61.1 percent in the opening half and buried five three-pointers. Jesuit would force 13 turnovers, scoring 12 points and dominated the paint, scoring 22 points between the lanes. In comparison, Jesuit (26-5, 11-2 UIL 9-6A) out-scored Plano West, 28-17, in the second half to secure the victory, the team's fifth consecutive win, to put the Rangers in the driver's seat heading into Tuesday's regular-season finale.
 
The two teams played to a stalemate in the first quarter as Jesuit and Plano West traded leads throughout the first eight minutes. Jesuit held a lead midway through the second quarter, but three consecutive three-pointers by the Wolves gave Plano West a 28-20 lead. The Rangers were held without a field goal over the last 4:47 of the opening half, only scoring four points on four free-throws by Marble to enter the halftime break trailing by six points.
 
The Rangers erupted out of the halftime break on a 13-4 run to take the lead back. Abmas started the second half with a deep three-pointer before Hollerich converted a traditional three-point play to tie the game at 28-28. Wilson put the Rangers ahead with a three-pointer, burying a shot in front of the Jesuit bench to send the capacity crowd into a frenzy. Plano West closed the quarter shooting 3-of-4 from the field to cut the deficit to one point going into the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, both teams ramped up defensively as neither squad converted a three-point field goal until the three-minute mark of the quarter. Abmas converted a huge three-pointer to give the Rangers a four-point lead, scoring a layup seconds later to spot the Rangers a two-possession lead.
 
Plano West hit a three-pointer with 1:29 remaining to cut the lead to three, forcing the Rangers to make free-throws down the stretch to clinch the win. Wilson was the first Ranger free-throw shooter fouled, and Wilson hit both of his shots to keep the lead at five. The Wolves kept the pressure on Jesuit with a converted jumper on the ensuing inbound, then fouled Abmas hoping for an opportunity to keep the game within three. Facing a one-and-one, Abmas buried both free-throws to return the lead at five.
 
The Wolves aimed to keep the pressure on, but a thunderous block by Marble returned the ball to Jesuit, costing Plano West precious seconds and giving Jesuit free throws up five points with 13 seconds remaining. A missed free-throw gave Plano West a last-gasp effort, but Abmas' fifth steal of the game clinched the win.
 
Jesuit's senior class scored 23 of the team's 28 points. The senior class, consisting of Abmas, Hollerich, Marble, Wilson, John Phillips, Joey Rischard, Mac McCormick alongside team managers Cameron Bristol and Andrew Matthews, were honored alongside the 11 Jesuit Dallas senior cheerleaders prior to Friday's tip-off.
 
The Rangers will close the regular season on Tuesday against McKinney Boyd. Jesuit defeated Boyd, 73-40, in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 18. The Rangers enter Tuesday's game with the opportunity to clinch the fifth district championship in team history with a win. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from McKinney Boyd H.S. and will be streamed live on JesuitRangers.org.