Lacing up their shoes, getting out on the court, facing tough district opponents, the last few weeks for the Jesuit Varsity Basketball team have been tough games that the Rangers gave their all, showing their ability to win tough basketball games.
Facing three opponents—Sunset (1/19), Skyline (1/22), and RL Turner (1/26)—the Rangers posted a string of strong performances, going 2-1 over the span and improving to 17-6 on the year.
In their first matchup against the Sunset Bisons, the Rangers had a strong win streak headed into the game. Head Coach Chris Hill said, “Winning always builds confidence, especially when the streak was a string of District games, which are the most important of the year. The goal of the non-district schedule is to be playing well as we head into the district season, and we accomplished that in the first half of district.”
In this away game, the Rangers have had previous success against the Bisons and entered the game with confidence but respect. Junior Dixon Smith said, “We definitely were confident, but we are every game to the same level. We believe we can compete with any team and enter every game the same way.” The Rangers were able to pounce on the Bisons taking a quick 40 to 20 lead entering the half. The team was led by sophomore Michael Jankovich’s 21 points and junior Mitch Prendergast’s 19 points. The Rangers easily handled the Bisons en route to an 84-39 win.
In their second matchup, the Rangers headed into a f
irst place game versus the Skyline Raiders where the winner would take sole possession of first place in the district. Walsh Gym had a huge turnout for this game which gave the Rangers a strong advantage. Senior Ben Kunasek said, “The crowd always gives us a boost, but in a big game when the crowd really shows out we feel extra confident.”
This game looked dismal for the Rangers from the start as the score at the half was only 22-17 with Skyline on top. This low scoring affair saw only two Rangers score double-digit points, a terrible sign. The second half started horribly for the Rangers as they failed to score a single point in the third quarter. Led again in scoring by Jankovich and Prendergast the Rangers finished the game with only a total of 38 points. The Raiders dropped 56 points to knock off the Rangers and take 1st place in the district.
Regarding the loss, Coach Hill said, “We played pretty well in the first half but they out executed us in the second half. Their game plan to slow the game down as much as they did forced us to come out of our comfort zone a little bit and gave them a big advantage. They played great defense, made timely shots, and took care of the ball. We had good effort [but] just need to play better. Hopefully [it is] a good learning experience for the next time we play. Mitch Prendergast and Michael Jankovich both had solid efforts in that game.”
In their third game of the stretch, the Rangers again brought the game to Walsh Gym hoping to this time take advantage of the home crowd. The Rangers looked to regroup from a tough loss, and they found great success in this endeavor. Jesuit pounced on the Irving Tigers taking a 73 to 34 victory, igniting a new district win streak.
The Rangers had a team effort with four players reaching double digits, Jankovich, Pendergast, Kunasek, and Marcus Hill ’17. Pendergast said, “We wanted to bounce back after a tough loss and we knew the best place would be at our home court. We played well as a team and got back in the winning groove.” The Rangers’ performance was all around on point vaulting them back in the swing of things.
Moving forward, the Rangers have another shot at the Raiders as they look to tie them atop the district. The Rangers need to keep playing like they have, and they have a great shot moving forward. Coach Hill said, “[We have] two main goals, first is to win district, which will be tough to do at this point but still possible, and the second is to be playing our best basketball going into the playoffs which I believe we will accomplish. I really like this team, we have a lot of guys who love to play, are good team mates, and work hard. Effort hasn’t been an issue with this team which has been great. There are and will always be things we need to improve on but I think we are getting into position to be peaking as the district portion of the season comes to a close.”
Make sure to come out and support Jesuit as they continue their quest in district play.
