• Jesuit Dallas toppled its second ranked opponent of the playoffs on Tuesday as the Rangers upended No. 15 El Paso Americas, 61-40. After finishing the first half on a 10-0 run, the Rangers outscored the Trail Blazers, 19-9, in the third to turn the tables on a reputable defense and punch their ticket to the Elite Eight. Senior Cal Linn closed out the game as the team's leading scorer, racking up 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and five three-pointers. Senior Conor Moore kept his playoff double-double streak intact, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds. Senior Gavin Perryman was Jesuit's final double-digit scorer of the evening with 14 points, matching senior Camden Roy with a team-high four assists. The point guard combo of sophomore Dylan Gibbons and senior Shane Hatzmann helped faciltate the offense during the run, allowing the Rangers to move the ball and keep the Trail Blazer defense on their heels. Gibbons finished the game with five points, two assists and steal while Hatzmann racked up three assists and two points.
• Richardson closed the year ranked third in the state by TABCHoops.org, and upended Byron Nelson, 66-32, in the regional semifinal round on Tuesday. The Eagles jumped out to a 29-16 lead at halftime and never looked back, holding the Bobcats to fewer than 10 points in each of the four quarters. Junior guard Rylan Griffen led all scorers with 21 points, adding seven rebounds. In the regional quarterfinal round, Richardson defeated No. 4 South Grand Prairie, 64-54, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season behind 31 points from junior guard Cason Wallace. Richardson enters Friday's game ranked No. 17 in the nation according to the MaxPreps computer ranking system.
• Richardson defeated Jesuit twice this season as the Eagles swept the Rangers in District 7-6A play. On Jan. 9, the Richardson came storming back from a double-digit deficit and won on a half-court heave by Wallace at the buzzer for an 80-77 comeback victory. On Jan. 19, Griffen hit a game-winning pull up jumper at the buzzer for a 52-50 win during a wild game which featured eight lead changes and six ties.
• The winner of Friday's game will compete in the state semifinals against one of the three remaining teams following Friday's games. Jesuit Dallas is one of two unranked teams still dancing as Region II-6A features a heavyweight battle between the state's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in Waxahachie and Duncanville. No. 14 Summer Creek and No. 12 Atascocita will compete on Friday for the Region III-6A crown while unranked Clark will look to keep its Cinderella run intact against No. 5 Westlake in Region IV.
