Jesuit gave state-ranked No. 8 Allen a sizable test on Tuesday at Walsh Gymnasium, but the Eagles were able to sneak past the Rangers, 57-54, with a fourth quarter rally on Tuesday night. The Rangers held an 11-point lead late in the first quarter but were unable to stop the Allen comeback and saw a game-tying play fall just short.
 
Junior Gavin Perryman buried four three-pointers and finished the game with 17 points. Senior Darryl Brown added his 12th straight double-digit performance with 14 points but saw his four-game double-double streak end despite securing a team-leading eight rebounds. Junior Will Cordle hit a pair of three-pointers to finish with 10 points while junior Cal Linn closed out the bout with five points.
 
Jesuit (7-12, 0-2) shot 43.8 percent from the floor and scored 28 points in the paint. The Rangers hit seven three-pointers and forced nine Eagle turnovers, but a back and forth game that saw six lead changes and three ties went Allen's way down the final stretch of the fourth quarter.
 
The Rangers erupted out of the gate during the opening five minutes of the first quarter, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-3 from distance to take a 15-4 lead with 2:46 left. Jesuit held Allen to a 2-of-7 clip and 0-for-3 from behind the arc as Allen struggled to garner momentum offensively until the late moments of the opening quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Rangers continued to hold the lead in the second as junior Conor Moore found Perryman for a quarter-opening three-pointer to give Jesuit a 10-point lead, but Allen responded with an 11-5 run that cut the lead to four with 5:21 remaining in the first half. Brown scored off a pass by junior Shane Hatzmann with 17 seconds left to send the Blue and Gold into the break holding a 33-26 lead.
 
Allen moved to a frontcourt-powered offense in the third quarter, battling their way to 12 free-throw attempts which helped the Eagles piece together a 15-7 run that gave Allen its first lead of the game with 1:09 remaining in the third. Cordle hit a key three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining in the third to put Jesuit back in front heading into the fourth.
 
A quick-paced first three quarters caught up to both teams in the fourth as neither Jesuit or Allen scored over the first 4:26 of the final quarter in regulation. Brown snapped the scoreless streak with a layup to put the Rangers up by four, but Allen followed with a game-breaking, 11-0 run that put the Eagles up seven and pushed the Rangers to the brink. However, Cordle converted a transition layup and Perryman scored with 37 seconds left to turn a seven-point deficit into a five, then hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to three.
 
After Eagle guard Manny Obaseki converted two free throws to put Allen up by five, junior Reid Lynch hit a jumper to bring Jesuit to within three with 15 seconds left. Perryman intercepted the inbounds pass and had an open look from the top of the key which went off the side of the rim and into the hands of classmate Camden Roy with three seconds on the clock. Roy threw up a last-second shot to tie the game, but the ball hit the back iron and fell off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
 
Jesuit will return to action on Friday as the Rangers will travel north to face the Plano H.S. Wildcats. Jesuit swept the Wildcats last season, defeating Plano, 65-55 on Jan. 5 at Walsh Gym before securing a 67-54 win on Jan. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Plano.