Currently, Jesuit basketball stands at 14-9 to cap things half for the first half of district. Jesuit has the back half of the district left with most games away until January 24th and has made large strides so far this season with . Additionally, Jesuit is 8-1 @ Walsh Gym, an insane stat that shows that they are capable of winning games at home. Jesuit has the Lake Highlands game in the next two weeks with a big red circle around it, determined to play physical basketball and willing to find opportunities to score. I am certain that Jesuit will have a playoff spot and finish district play on a strong note with some upsets.
“There’s been plenty of ups nd downs in this stretch, and we showed two sides of how we can play. ON one hand there’s games like irving nimitz where we stick together, and then on the other there’s games like Highland Park. We’ve been working on a lot OF the mistakes we made recently, and something is definitley getting ready to click in this back half of district.”
— Charlie Needham ’23
Lake Highlands
On Tuesday, December 6th, Jesuit traveled across 75 to take on Lake Highlands. According to the TABC, Lake Highlands is ranked number 1 in the state of Texas and has one of the best squads in the state and arguably in the country.
Lake Highlands controlled the tempo all game offensively and defensively having the advantage at home, additionally, they continued to move the ball at an elite level and find ways to get second-chance points off offensive rebounds. They excelled in transition offenses and scored in fast-break situations. Tre Johnson, the #1 player in the class of 2024, scored a team-high 29 points, along with 12 rebounds for the Wild Cats. Big man Yale commits Samson Aletan scored 10 points, 3 blocks, and 3 steals, providing a daunting presence in the post toward opposing defenders. Wildcats won 72-47. However, they head to Walsh Gym on January 24th at 7 P.M.
Although, Jesuit lost by double digits, having to play a talented Lake Highlands to open up the district season. However, Jesuit played very fundamental basketball, finding ways to get the ball inside and moving without the ball. In the first quarter, Lake Highlands led Jesuit 20-4. However, Jesuit began to find scoring opportunities and maintain stops only down by 11 at half time. Sophomore Caleb Steger led the team with 13 points, along with 4 rebounds, playing a pivotal role in the Jesuits’ shot-making abilities and offense. Michael Mathie grabbed 6 rebounds leading the Rangers in rebounds, and a defensive threat to the Wildcats.
JJ Pearce
In the annual 6th man game, Jesuit handled business and beat Pearce 56-44. Jesuit went on a run in the early 1st half of the game up 17 points to a strong 3-point shooting JJ Pearce team. Limiting Pearce to 4 points in each quarter is impressive, especially holding them to 25 percent from deep too. Jesuit did a great job reversing the ball and looking for mismatches all game.
Senior Tai Kryger ’23 led the team with 12 rebounds and was a strong force to kick the ball out for a better opportunity. In the second half of the game, Pearce made second-half adjustments to their offensive game plan, and 62 percent from three in the third quarter and 58 percent from the field, which was the only time all game they shot above 40 percent.
Steger led the Rangers with 16 points for the night and 5 rebounds for the Rangers. Will Bronson went 4-8 for the night with 8 points and 3 rebounds.
Irving
On December 13th, Jesuit rallied against Irving at home. Caleb Steger lead the Rangers in points with 12, however, Jesuit managed to get everyone involved offensively and played very well. Jesuit had 25-4 assists against Irving, a huge stat while also scoring 46 points in the paint, which is a season-high for the Rangers. The Rangers also limited the Tigers to only 37 points and held them to 4 points in the first quarter of the game. The Rangers defensive effort and comradery were evident as they forced 23 points off turnovers and also grabbed 18 second-chance points too. Hampton Aldridge ’23 led the team in steals with 5 and came off the bench scoring 10 with 3 rebounds. Both Michael Mathie ’23 and Will Bronson ’24 played a solid game inside with both scoring 9 and 10 while securing more than 3 rebounds a piece while having more than a block too. The Rangers dusted past Irving, and look ahead for the upcoming week against a deceiving Emerson team. The final score was 76-37 Rangers.
Frisco Emerson
With a 7-6 record and a prior 3-point loss to a solid Rockwall team, Jesuit traveled to Frisco to take on Frisco Emerson. The Rangers had trouble shooting the three ball, however, their ability to enforce turnovers and steals leading to easy transition buckets was huge. They scored 26 points off of Emerson’s 25 turnovers. Jesuit chipped away in the second half of the ball game and won with big performances from Caleb Steger ’25, who was all over the place on the stat sheet scoring 14 points, 7 rebounds, and two steals. Justin Kemp ’24 where he knocked down 40 percent from three and 50 percent from the field scoring 10 points. Michael Mathie played a pivotal role for the Rangers on the glass with 5 rebounds and scoring 9 points. Tai Kryger lead the team in steals with 4 of his own, and was a huge contributor scoring inside the three point line. The Rangers did a great job playing off two feet and driving/kicking the ball well leading to opportunities to score, and also finding a way to rebound. The Rangers won a big game on the road with a score of 68-50.
MacArthur
After an efficient and solid win @ Frisco Emerson, The Rangers took on Irving MacArthur @ Walsh Gym. Irving MacArthur sits at 5-11 (1-1 at district in December 20th). The Rangers outrebounded the Cardinals 46-27. The leading scorers for Jesuit were sophomore Caleb Steger with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Jesuit scored almost half of their points from inside of the paint, while MacArthur scored only 20 points. Dylan Gibbons facilitated with an astounding 9 assists to lead his team to victory while playing a large role in keeping the tempo and running the offense. Caleb Steger led the way with 24 points. The Rangers forced Mac to shoot contested shots while rotating on defense, and limiting them to 30 percent from the field, an example of their defense. The Rangers won 73-46.
Hebron
In a back-and-forth matchup against the 7-7 Hebron Hawks on Christmas Break, Jesuit looked to keep the win streak rolling, after plummeting MacArthur at Walsh Gym on the prior Tuesday. Hebron ran away with the game in overtime, scoring 8 points consecutively leaving Jesuit scoreless. Sophomore Caleb Steger finished the game with 19 points, shooting 4-9 from three, and 5-7 from the line. With the absence of Will Bronson, Jesuit lacked size in the post, while 6’8 Hebron big man Isiah Dixon had a solid game able to rebound at a high level and lead Hebron in points. Hebron won 56-48 in OT. Jesuit looks ahead towards Richardson Berkner to capitalize.
“We are looking forward to improving our team chemistry and hopefully getting a couple big time wins against tough opponents in the future.” – Michael Grant ’25
Richardson Berkner
After a deterring loss to Hebron in OT by a few points, 2023 was among us, and Jesuit was ready for the transition back to district play. Jesuit had 28 bench points compared to Berkner’s 0. Additionally, Jesuit shot 100 percent from the line and shot a solid 39 percent from three-point land. Tai Kryger ’23 led the Rangers in scoring with 15 points and 8 rebounds, and also played a key role on the offensive glass. The Rangers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and also had 15 second-chance points, which gave the Rangers an advantage ahead of the Rams. Caleb Steger ’25 finished right behind Kryger with 13 points, while contributing 7 rebounds of his own, and Justin Kemp shot 40 percent from three able to score 12 points. Jesuit excelled at using the extra pass and was ready to shoot the ball at will. The Rangers won 56-46 to open up the new year.
Irving Nimitz
On January 6th, Jesuit traveled to Irving Nimitz High to take on the Vikings for a Friday night showdown. Jesuit executed early on and put away Nimitz in fashion by halftime by more than 20 points. Jesuit excelled and limited Nimitz to 0 points in the second quarter, and also held them to only 17 percent from the three-point line. Caleb Steger ’25 scored 21 and 7 rebounds for the Rangers, Dylan Gibbons led the team with 7 assists and also had 7 rebounds of his own, and lastly, Hank Gramlich + Owen Berry had 9 points a piece. The Rangers did a solid job closing out on defenders and finding opportunities in the paint to get to the rim off two feet. The final score was 57-35.
#20 Highland Park in 6A:
On January 10th, Jesuit traveled down the DNT to take on the Highland Park Scots. The Scots were 17-4 going into this game against some big wins against district opponent Richardson Eagles and non-district stout Plano East. The final score was 57-41. The anticipation was building up in Highlander Field House as tickets sold out over the weekend. In the first half of the game, second chance points were a large factor for the Scots’ lead as the Scots duel sport athlete Jordan Stribling made statement points early in the first half. Shots were not falling for both team. However, Jesuit capitalized on finding the best shot possible and getting the ball inside to Will Bronson ’24. Highland Park struggled to shoot the ball from deep but instead continued to find open cutters and run their offense efficiently. Senior Charlie Needham hit 3 threes to get Jesuit back in the ball game in crucial moments, which helped lift Jesuit keeping them in the game. One weakness that helped HP was the number of paint points compared to Jesuits’. HP had 36 paint points compared to Jesuits 12.
“For me, these past 6 games have been fun and a great learing expreinece for the team. ALthough, I missed 5/6 games due ot injury, I learned as much as my teammates on the court. This next half of the season should be something to look forward to.”
–Hampton Aldridge ’23
In the second half, the Scots got to a lead of 18 towards the end of the 3rd quarter. Caleb Steger came alive in the second half, primarily in the 4th quarter contributing 14 of his own points. However, the Scots’ defense denied and doubled team Steger to take away shooters and forced turnovers in their favor for easy fast-break transition points toward the end of the game. The final score was 57-41.
Richardson
Jesuit traveled to Richardson High School to take on the Eagles Friday the 13th. Arguably one of the district’s top teams in 7-6A, Jesuit faced adversity as Richardson is 16-9 (6-2 in district) with big wins over teams like Red Oak and Wylie. Richardson is starred by Timmie Jordan, a 6’7 big man, with a smooth inside and outside game. He finished the game with a double-double event with 17 points and 14 rebounds. He can shoot the ball and rebound at a high level. It was a great matchup between him and 6’7 Will Bronson. Bronson did a solid job of rebounding, and securing three blocks. Caleb Steger led the Rangers with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Tai Kryger finished the game with 10 points, playing a large role rebounding.
Opening into the first half, Richardson got out early and made tough shots, and was a high-scoring first half. Justin Kemp ’24 made two three-pointers to get Jesuit back into the ball game and made an immediate impact for the Rangers.
Going into the second half of the game, Jesuit was down 10, and looked to inch their way closer. Jesuit played a very physical third quarter game, and got back down to only a 7 point game. However, in the 4th quarter Jesuit shots weren’t falling and Richardson went on a run. The Rangers unfortunately lost 74-57 to end the first half of district off. However looking ahead, the Rangers turn around and play district foe J.J. Pearce this upcoming Tuesday the 17th.
Even though the Rangers have lost the last two games against top teams in the state, I have confidence that the Rangers will play together in crunch time moments and win big time games ahead as they transition to the second half of district.
Stay tuned for more Jesuit Basketball recaps.
