Behind a stellar, two-game performance on Saturday, Jesuit Dallas secured its second tournament championship of the season by capturing the Diamondbacker Invitational Championship title in San Antonio. Jesuit defeated The Woodlands, 57-39 in the semifinal before toppling Rockwall, 59-56, in the tournament championship to secure a 9-4 record ahead of Tuesday's district opener against Lake Highlands.
 
Senior Michael Grant was named Tournament MVP, posting a 21-point performance against The Woodlands before adding 15 points to the team's win over Rockwall. Senior Charlie Peters, who opened the tournament with a sensational outing against tournament host San Antonio Reagan, secured all-tournament honors by scoring 10 points and adding six rebounds against Rockwall. Junior William Alexander capped the Rangers' all-tournament selections following a 10-point performance in the championship final.
 
Against The Woodlands, Peters added 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals while senior Kevin Butera scored six points with five boards and three assists. Juniors Justin Fern, Cade Kirby and senior Robert Prager scored four points apiece for the Rangers, who finished the contest shooting 52.2 percent from the floor, held The Woodlands to 34.8 total shooting, and out-scored the Highlanders, 38-22 in the paint.
 
Jesuit avenged a double overtime loss to Rockwall in November with a sensational comeback win that saw the Blue and Gold come storming back from a nine-point deficit in the second. The Rangers were aided by seven-point performances by Kirby and senior Ethan Mahowald and held onto the lead down the stretch as Rockwall chipped away at Jesuit's nine point lead with 5:07 remaining. In the waning moments of the bout, Alexander drilled one of two free-throws to give the Rangers a two-possession lead with less than five seconds remaining.
 
The Rangers will now enter district play as Jesuit hosts Lake Highlands on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. at Walsh Gym. The Wildcats are currently 13-3 on the year but enter the matchup on a two-game skid following a 66-48 loss to Stony Point on Dec. 7 and a 65-63 loss to Tyler Legacy on Dec. 13. Prior to those losses, Lake Highlands rattled off eight straight wins including victories over Greenhill (58-55), Dripping Springs (65-40) and Smithson Valley (83-47), and secured a 52-51, early season win over Highland Park on Nov. 15.