In college basketball, programs often participate in early season tournaments to face tough competition outside of their conferences, tournaments that get teams ready for conference play and show them where they stack up against other top teams in the country. Similarly, Jesuit’s junior varsity blue and gold teams also played in an early season tournament in order to challenge themselves and uncover areas where they need improvement before District play begins. From November 19-21, both the JV blue and gold teams took part in the Naaman Forest Tournament.
The blue team first faced off against McKinney in the tournament, losing 66-52; however, Nick Motter ‘18 noted that “The game was much closer than the scoreboard indicated.” Unable to protect the ball, the Rangers committed too many turnovers, placing pressure on their defense to step up and stop McKinney, a difficult challenge that the defense could not overcome as they “played an alright defensive game, but it wasn’t enough,” according to Motter.
Looking to bounce back after their loss against McKinney, the blue team came out of the gates firing on all cylinders against North Garland as Matthew Walsh ‘18 knocked down some early shots to give the team confidence. Nevertheless, the Rangers struggled to crash the glass throughout the game, allowing North Garland to string together a couple runs and get back in the game at times when the Rangers seemed to be pulling away. Fortunately, Walsh “was clutch and shut them down with free throws” at the end of the game, commented Motter, securing a well-earned 72-66 win.
In their final game of the tournament, the blue team hoped to ride their win against North Garland into their matchup with South Garland. However, the Rangers failed to do so as they lost a closely-contested game, 57-50. Jesuit led for most of the game but couldn’t stop the Colonels’ offense down the stretch. Motter echoed this point, attributing their loss to “some lackadaisical defense that drew them back in it.” Motter added, “We also had trouble with their athleticism. They got some huge putbacks that we couldn’t make up for.” This loss set JV blue’s record solely at .500, 2-2 through the first four games of the year. However, Motter still believed that the tournament served as a “much-needed tune-up,” one that allowed them to “learn the importance of rebounding and lessening stupid mistakes.”
JV gold faced a similar challenge in their games in the Naaman Forest Tournament. Playing Garland in the first round of the tournament, Jesuit blew out the Owls on their way to a 30 point victory. The Rangers dominated on the offense side of the ball as everything seemed to fall through the net, especially for Freshman Max Abmas, who “really stood out” as he stepped up and “shot especially well,” according to his teammate Jack McMurchie ‘17. Not dwelling on their win, McMurchie focused on where they needed to improve, citing that “they struggled defensively, giving up over 50 points.”
In the next round, Jesuit faced off against Lakeview Centennial, but instead of coasting to a victory, Jesuit had to battle in a game that couldn’t be decided in regulation. Leading throughout most of the game, Jesuit surrendered their lead in the closing minutes of the fourth as Lakeview slowing chipped away at the lead, eventually forcing overtime where Jesuit ultimately won by two. McMurchie noted that JV gold “played better as a team and got everybody involved, but lost focus and let [Lakeview] back in it.”
Coming off two big wins to kick off the tournament, Jesuit played a gritty Rowlett team in the third round. Unable to shoot the ball well in the opening quarters, Jesuit could not overcome their first half deficit and battle back to win the game, losing by five points. Rowlett, on the other hand, shot extraordinarily well from behind the arc, knocking down 13 three-pointers. Disappointed in the loss, McMurchie thought “The team played well but could have done more to win the tournament.”
In their consolation game, Jesuit dominated their former TAPPS rival Bishop Lynch, winning by double digits. Leading the team in scoring, Patrick Daniels ‘17 put up 25 points while also playing shut down D and forcing the Friars to turn the ball over. Along with Daniels’ scoring and defense, McMurchie acknowledged that “his physicality” also contributed to the team’s win. JV Gold left the tournament with a season record of 4-1, the tournament teaching them to work together in order to come out on top in their upcoming games.
Make sure to check The Roundup for more JV blue and gold basketball coverage.
