Jesuit basketball went 5-4 during the month of January, as well as a strong 5-0 in February, bringing them to an overall record of 17-13 on the regular season. Among those games, Jesuit won 10 of their 13 conference games during January and February.
Ups and Downs in January
The Varsity squad struggled initially, losing 3 straight games against Plano West, MacArthur, and Richardson. This streak of heartbreak seemed to ignite some sort of a fire in this ranger squad, as they pursued through their struggle and went on to win the next four consecutive games, including an impressive win over division rival JJ Pearce. In this tight and heated match, Justin Fern ’26 took control, dropping an impressive 27 points while shooting 66% from the field, and 87.5% from three-point range. As a team, Jesuit’s defense stepped up, holding Pearce to only six made three pointers, inadequate compared to Jesuit’s 12. Pierce Popelka ’26 stepped up on defense, recording two steals and a block against Pearce’s impressive paint players. William Alexander ’26 captained the court, assisting on seven made buckets, facilitating Jesuit’s scoring in that game, and leading the team to victory.
Heading Into February
The month of February was full of competition, as Jesuit had to face five of their division rivals. The Rangers started off strong with a win against Richardson at home, led by the scoring of William Alexander ’26 and Justin Fern ’26. This game helped to build momentum, as Jesuit then went on to take the competition to an away game at Berkner, where they achieved a 17-point victory. An impressive shooting performance from Andrew Eakes ’28 was a driving factor in that game, nailing three shots from behind the arc. This momentum continued, as Jesuit handled both Nimitz and Irving with ease, and headed into their regular season closing game against Pearce. Fresh off of a loss against Jesuit earlier in the season, Pearce was hungry for revenge. However, Pierce Popelka ’28 had other ideas, scoring 19 points in Jesuit’s 12-point victory over Pearce to close out the regular season.
Summary
Jesuit demonstrated great perseverance during the months of January and February. Coming out of winter break and starting off 0-3 is not easy to come back from. However, the experience of Jesuit’s talented seniors, and sparks from rising talent in sophomores and juniors helped them strive for and achieve success in the second half of this season. When I asked one of the players how they thought the last two months went overall, he described it as achieving:
“A high level of success through adversity.” – Andrew Eakes ’28
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