The Jesuit Varsity Basketball team won their season opener convincingly at Mesquite on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, with an impressive 59-47 beating of the Skeeters basketball team. Mesquite’s Eric Reed led all scorers with 17 points, while Jesuit center Steven Speith and guard Tim Sayers contributed with 16 points each.
Although this game was close at the beginning, with the first quarter ending in a 9-9 tie, the Rangers outscored the Skeeters 18-8 in the second quarter to take a commanding lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. This game featured some new faces on Jesuit’s varsity team, including Juniors Grant Hatzmann, Bryan Stankey, and Nathan Krog, all who played and scored. Many look to see these youngsters improve throughout the season.
The Rangers basketball team evened their record to 1-1 on November 17 with a loss to Strake Jesuit. This game was arguably the biggest test in the Rangers’ early season schedule, with the Strake Crusaders being ranked 10th in the state of Texas in ESPN.com’s high school basketball preseason rankings.
Despite a quick start and an early lead for the Rangers, the Crusaders quickly responded, finishing the first quarter with a burst of scoring that led to a 20-18 lead at the break. Strake did not let up, outscoring their Dallas brothers by a total of 14 points in the second and third quarters. Although the Rangers tried to make a push in the fourth quarter, it was not enough, and the Strake Crusaders won the Battle of the Jesuits by nine points, 72-63.
Strake’s high-powered offense was captained by guard Rasheed Sualimon, one of the top high school recruits in the country. However, the stud point guard, who has committed to play at Duke University next year, was not the leading scorer of the game, with 20 points. Instead, another Crusader guard, Senior John Gillon, led all scorers with 27 points.
Senior center David Lacey led all Jesuit scorers with 18 points, while Steven Speith and Tim Sayers had 13 and 15 points, respectively. Although the Rangers lost, they looked solid in a tough matchup against a highly ranked rival.
In only their second week of the season, the Rangers basketball team has managed to impress many with two very convincing wins and a 3-1 record. Over the weekend, the Rangers had a decisive victory over Lewisville, pummeling them 62-41.
Later in the week, on Monday, November 21, the Rangers also managed to get a 54-46 victory on a very talented Plano team that has had a lot of success in recent years. The Rangers defense allowed only two Plano players, Austin Mitchell and Travis Warman, to reach double-digit scoring.
Although Plano similarly allowed only one Ranger, David Lacey, to score in double digits, Monday’s game saw an emergence of many young, new faces on the varsity team. Newcomers Bryan Stankey, Grant Hatzmann, and Nathan Krog scored 6, 5, and 3 points, all respective season highs in scoring. Lacey, the only Jesuit player in double digits, had 17 points and led all scorers.
This impressive second week for the Rangers has put them a very good position going forward as they look to face stout opponents such as Plano West and Richardson Berkner in the next few weeks. Next, the Rangers look ahead to a home matchup with Garland Lakeview Centennial on Tuesday, November 29.
