The Jesuit Rangers will continue their hunt for the district title with 3 upcoming district games against Nimitz, Irving, and JJ Pearce. Through district play so far the Rangers sit at 10-2, second place in district 7-6A. The Rangers will be looking to finish the season strong and carry their current 4 game winning streak into the playoffs.
A Recap of the Rangers District Run so Far:
Lake Highlands
The Jesuit Rangers opened up district play with a home game against the Lake Highlands Wildcats. The Rangers fought hard in a physical battle but ultimately fell up short in a 43-47 loss. This loss puts the rangers at 0-1 in district play. This mainly defensive battle, still saw some scoring outbreaks with Michael Grant 25’ scoring 18 points. The Rangers look to bounce back next week against MacArthur and find their first district win.
MacArthur
The Jesuit Rangers bounced back from their opening district loss and improved to 1-1 in district play with a dominant 20pt victory of 62-42. This game shows a return to the Rangers repeated scoring dominance on their home court scoring a team total of 60 points. This scoring outbreak was led a group of senior players with Michael Grant ‘25 adding 24 points, Kevin Butera ‘25 scoring 9 points, Ethan Mahowald ‘25 with 8 points Charlie Peters ‘25 with 7 points.
“That was a great team win” – Charlie Peters ’25
Richardson
The Jesuit Rangers added another win to its district record with a 68-55 victory over the Richardson Eagles. The Rangers started off the game holding Richardson to just 9 points in the first quarter and 10 points in the second quarter to put the Rangers up 12 points going into halftime. The Rangers had a constant offensive attack to add to their opening defensive presence with Michael Grant ‘25 scoring 31 points, the 2nd time this season he has scored over 30 points. Seniors Kevin Butera and Caleb Steger also scored 12 and 10 points. This dominant performance improved the Rangers to 2-1 in district play.
“Its easy when we all play defense together and move as a team” – Kevin Butera ‘25
Berkner
The Jesuit Rangers are catching fire, winning their 3rd district game in a row with a 66-60 victory over the Berkner Rams. The Rangers showed their gritty nature, overcoming a 10 point deficit in the third quarter. This comeback came from a 14-2 run by the Rangers in the mid fourth quarter. The Rangers were led by Caleb Steger ‘25 scoring 23 points. Along with this 23 point performance by Steger, Seniors Charlie Peters and Michael Grant both scored 16 points. This win places the Rangers at 3-1 in District 7-6A.
Nimitz
The Jesuit Rangers secured their fourth consecutive district win with a dominant 82-47 victory over the Nimitz Vikings. This win improves the Rangers’ district record to 4-1 as they continue their strong push through district play. The Rangers scoring depth was on display as 11 Rangers contributed to the team score of 82. This sharpshooting display was led by a career high 17 points from William Alexander and 19 points from Caleb Steger.
Irving
Jesuit defeated the Irving Tigers 84-40, with this 40 point victory the Rangers improve to 6-1 in district play. The Rangers high powered offensive attack was led by Caleb Steger’s 18 points and Michael Grant’s 14 points. Senior Aidan Hunt also recorded a career high 12 points. This win also kept the winning streak alive, as now the Rangers have won their last 5 games.
“it was fun seeing everyone contributing to the win.” – aidan hunt ’25
JJ Pearce
Jesuit Dallas fell to JJ Pearce 50-60, ending the five game winning streak and placing the Rangers at 6-2 in District. Even in the loss Seniors Caleb Steger and Michael Grant put up 21 and 17 points. The difference in the game came in Pearce shooting 47% from the field, as the Rangers only shot 33%.
“that was a tough loss for us, but our focus now is on Lake Highlands next week to take care of some unfinished business.” – EThan mahowald ’25
Lake Highlands
The Rangers defeat Lake Highlands in a dominant road victory 67-48. The difference in the game kept in the way the Rangers responded out of halftime. After a halftime speech, by Coach Chris Hill, the Rangers came out and outscored Lake Highlands 25-9. This halftime adjustment led to the Rangers controlling the entire second half and winning an important game over district rivals. The Rangers shot an impressive 51% from the floor with Caleb Steger, Michael Grant and Charlie Peters combining for 52 of the teams points. The ability for the rangers to bounce back from a rough outing against JJ Pearce the week before shows the resilience of the locker room and the confidence of the team. With this win the Rangers now sit in second place in the district at 7-2.
“it feels good to get that game back and get a big win on the road against district rivals” – Charlie peters ’25
MacArthur
The Rangers catch fire in a dominant 83-62 win over MacArthur. The Rangers hit 19 three pointers shooting 68% from beyond the arc as a team. This three point attack was led by Junior Cooper Jensen who scored 24 points on 8 three pointers, the most from any ranger player in the past 5 years. Caleb Steger also hit 6 three pointers scoring 24 points as well. This win once again shows the reliance of this Rangers team as they continue to find success on the road, as this marks back to back double digit wins in away games. The rangers now sit at 8-2 in district play and just need Lake Highlands to lose one game to take the first place spot.
Richardson
Jesuit moves to 9-2 in district play as a hard fought 67-63 overtime victory at Richardson increases the road winning streak to three games. This was the final game of the Rangers 4 straight road games. Throughout these four road games the Rangers finished 3-1. During the Richardson game the Rangers were led by Caleb Steger who had 28 points and Michael Grant who had 20 points. Rebounds were a key part of the Rangers ability to outlast Richardson as Charlie Peters and Caleb Steger both had double digit rebounds. As Jesuit comes into the final four game stretch of their season, they will be looking to the 9-1 Lake Highlands Wildcats, as a loss from them will propel Jesuit into first place.
“I’m proud of everyone’s ability to stay composed tonight and come out on top in this back and forth fight” – Caleb Steger ’25
Berkner
Jesuit Dallas defeats Berkner 64-58 in the annual 6th Man Game at Walsh Gym. Handing out free shirts to the first 500 fans who enter the gym led to a large turnout for Ranger fans. The 6th Man game wasn’t the only event going on this night as Senior Michael Grant reaches a career milestone of 1000 points. Michael Grant joins teammate Caleb Steger as both players this year have reached 1000 career points. Providing evidence to this repeated scoring success for both players, Michael and Caleb led the Rangers Scoring with 15 and 21 points. This win over Berkner now improves the Rangers Winning streak to 4 games and improves their district record to 10-2.
“I want to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me reach this goal” – Michael grant ’25
Thank you for reading and stay tuned to The Roundup for more Rangers basketball coverage.
