DALLAS - The Jesuit Dallas basketball team shot 53 percent from the floor in a 64-62 win over Highland Park at Walsh Gym on Tuesday night.
The win was Jesuit's third-consecutive and snapped a 7-game losing skid to the rival Scots. The Rangers' last victory over their Tollway neighbor came in December of 2014. This was the first win at home since the 1999-2000 season.
Pierce Popelka led the Rangers with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while
Justin Fern poured in 14 with six rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.
Andrew Eakes and
Cooper Jensen finished with nine points and three 3-pointers each.
HP scored the first basket of the second half and went ahead 36-26 before Jesuit answered with a 13-2 run to lead 39-38 midway through the third quarter. The lead changed hands five times before a
Dashel Glasgow tip-in at the horn tied it at 53-53.
Eakes and Fern made triples to start the scoring the fourth and the Rangers never trailed. HP cut the margin to one three times, including on a Chris Martinez layup with 17 seconds left.
Cade Kirby made 1-of-2 free throws, allowing the Scots a possession with 2.4 seconds to tie it or win in regulation. The smothering Jesuit defense forced a turnover as time expired allowing the Rangers to celebrate with a large student contingent on hand.
HP had nine turnovers with Jesuit collecting seven steals.
Martinez and Cade Kaplan had 14 points piece to lead the HP (3-3). The Scots shot 43 percent but were just 3-of-10 and 0-for-4 from outside in the final eight minutes.
Jesuit will return to play on Thursday against Lake Worth at 7 p.m. The game is the fourth contest on day one of the 62nd Annual Knights of Columbus Bob Stras Dallas Classic.
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