Jesuit Varsity Basketball Guard Andrew Eakes ’28, with six seconds remaining, hit two game-sealing free throws in overtime to all but seal the game for the Rangers in a 67-56 victory over Rowlett. It was the first game that the Rangers had won, after two failed attempts in which Jesuit lost by an average of 16 points. After starting the year 0-2, Jesuit has made a comeback to win four of their last five.
Early Season Recap
On November 14, the Jesuit Rangers opened the season with a disappointing 53-73 loss to Allen in Arlington. Four days later, they would fall again to Coppell 54-65, a rough start. But the Rangers looked onto Rowlett. After falling down 9-3 early, Jesuit seized control and took the lead early in the second quarter. The Rangers eventually took the game to overtime, where they would take over and win by 11 to get their first victory of the season. The Rangers then put their focus on the Frisco Lone Star Classic, a tournament held at Lone Star High School. After beating Flower Mound by 13, the Rangers lost a close, low-scoring affair with Liberty 43-46. However, turning things around, the Rangers won their last two competitions, 60-47 against OKC Storm and 70-51 against Frisco Wakeland.
Statistics
Currently, the Rangers’ leading-scorer, Pierce Popelka ’26, averages 16.5 points per game while Justin Fern ’26, the only other double-digit scorer, scores 11.3 a game. Forward Dashel Glasgow ’27, despite playing only 10.5 minutes per game, leads the team in rebounds per game with four. Starting Guard William Alexander ’26 leads in assists per game with four. The team is scoring an average of 57.8 points a game, with an overall plus-minus of -1.5. The team is shooting 44% from the field and 26.3% from three-point range, as well as 70% from the free-throw line. Jesuit is averaging 26.3 rebounds per game and 11.8 assists per game, to go with 17.5 turnovers per game. The team should work on taking care of the ball and improving their three-point shooting in the next month to come. In terms of defense, the Rangers are allowing a 39.5% field goal percentage and a 32.5% three-point percentage.
“I’m proud of the way we have competed and applied feedback from our losses early on. We continue to improve and grow as a team and I’m really excited to see what we can do this year. I believe we have a special group this year and can continue to work together towards moving the line of success.” -jack sisk ’27
Looking Ahead
The Rangers now stand at 4-3 on the season as November is wrapped up. The Rangers begin District play on December 19 at Lake Highlands. Since the overall goal is winning their District, the Rangers need to recover from early season woes completely in time for District play. They’ll have about 15 days to do so before their first District clash.
Tune into The Roundup for more Jesuit Basketball coverage!
