While most Jesuit students slept in till noon and watched Netflix all day long during Christmas break, Jesuit’s JV basketball teams were hard at work, competing in the Jesuit Christmas Tournament on December 28th and 29th.
Kicking off the tournament, JV gold faced a rowdy Highland Park B team, a team hungry for an upset victory over one of its North Dallas foes. Unfortunately for Highland Park, the game was never in doubt as Jesuit got out to a huge lead early and never looked back, blowing out the Scots 55-26. Standout player Jack McMurchie ‘17 commented, “We executed well on both sides of the ball, getting stops on defense and scoring points on offense.”
Looking to build off their momentum, JV gold moved on to the semifinals of the tournament where they played a talented Plano team. Fans in the crowd enjoyed some free basketball as the game couldn’t be decided in regulation, going to not one, not two, but three overtime periods. In what proved to be a classic for the ages, Plano ultimately escaped Walsh Gym with one point 45-44 victory. Crushed after the devastating loss, McMurchie still commended the way Plano performed throughout the game, “playing tenacious defense as well as holding the ball and being patient until they got an open shot they liked.”
After their marathon loss to Plano, JV gold hoped to bounce back in a consolation game versus the Highland Park A team. Looking to avenge an earlier season loss to the Scots, JV gold was fired up to play Highland Park again, McMurchie saying, “We really wanted to win this one as it was our best time to get back at them for beating us. We didn’t shoot well from the floor in the first game and that was something we wanted to correct in our second matchup.” A hard-fought, closely contested game resulted in a Jesuit 73-62 victory. McMurchie also noted that “The game was a lot closer than the scoreboard suggested as it was a tough game right down to the final whistle.”
For JV blue, they first played Rowlett in their first game of the Jesuit Christmas Tournament. Unable to generate much offensively, the Rangers couldn’t keep up with the points Rowlett was consistently putting on the scoreboard, losing 53-38. After the game, Nick Motter ‘18 was disappointed with how the team played against the Eagles, calling it a “blowout loss” as it was tied for JV blue’s largest margin of defeat during the season. Jesuit did have the unfortunate of playing Rowlett in the first round as the Eagles later went on to win the whole tournament, beating the same Plano team JV gold lost to in the championship.
Putting the last game behind them, JV blue next faced Carrollton Newman Smith. During the first half, the game remained tight as Jesuit could not string a couple of runs together and take a commanding lead. However, the Rangers soon took over due to their superb ball movement and passing, leading to a 53-38 win for the Rangers. Josh Marshall ’18 was impressed with the performances by guards Nick Motter and Jack Allen ’18, citing how “they took control of the game with their scoring.” Additionally, during the game, Jesuit executed a perfect full court pass off an inbounds play at the other end of the court, “burning the defense and turning it into a layup.”
Finally, JV blue’s last game versus Frisco Reedy required triple overtime just like JV gold’s game against Plano. Suffering the same fate as JV gold, JV blue also fell short, losing 51 -48. The Rangers had chances to secure the victory, but they couldn’t capitalize on them. Because of the OT thriller, JV blue left the tournament with a disappointing 1-2 record, letting a game they could have won slip through their fingers.
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