Jesuit Dallas harnessed momentum early in Saturday's match up against Hillcrest, capturing the program's first Knights of Columbus Bob Stras Memorial Tournament Championship since 2018 with a resounding, 66-43 win over the Panthers at Walsh Gym. The Rangers complete a 4-0 week with the victory and improve to 10-1 on the season ahead of next week's showdown against Allen.
Senior
Hank Gramlich was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player after a stellar three days on the hardwood. In the tournament championship game, Gramlich racked up seven points, six assists and three rebounds, following a career-high 22-point performance against Sachse on Friday and an 11-point outing against Frisco Centennial on Thursday. Senior
Will Bronson secured all-tournament plaudits, tacking on six points, three rebounds and two assists to his impressive tournament total.
Against the Panthers, senior
Justin Kemp led the way for the Blue and Gold with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, followed by nine points apiece from juniors
Michael Grant and
Ethan Mahowald. Senior
Tre Mergerson scored eight points, senior
Alec Piotrowski picked up six points, and the duo of juniors
Kevin Butera and
Robert Prager scored two points and one point, respectively, to close out the Jesuit Dallas scoring column.
The Rangers outscored Hillcrest, 30-18 in the paint, scored 16 second chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds, and held the Panthers to a 4-for-21 clip (19 percent) from three-point range while hitting 11 three-pointers during the contest.
Jesuit is set for a key non-district match up against Allen, who enters the week ranked eighth in the state according to the most recent Texas Association of Basketball Coaches rankings. The Eagles are 11-3 on the year and are on a seven-game winning streak, most recently upending Lake Ridge, 77-68, on Dec. 2. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday at Allen H.S.
