First Game: Harker Heights
The Jesuit Basketball team is off to a hot start! Jesuit opened its new season on the road against Harker Heights on Friday as part of the “Cowtown Classic” in Fort Worth, Texas. With great success, the team pulled the win.
Overall, the team was able to exhibit an impressive ability to communicate and distribute, finishing the game with 18 total assists. Keegan Nwosu started his senior career with a successful high of 21 points with senior Marcus Hill scoring 20 points and 18 points from junior Max Abmas. Keegan said that “he just tried to stay aggressive and his teammates did a really good job with feeding him the ball in spots that he could score”. Overall he believed that the team” learned that the game helped them highlight what they needed to work on in the future and during practices.”
Alongside his fellow teammate, Marcus Hill believed that the success of the team came from the good defensive and the quick familiarization of the offense.Senior Reid Hatzmann believed they “were all really pleased with how we played, but we know we still have a lot of work to do, and we are looking forward to playing against Mesquite Tuesday night.” Coach Chris Hill believed that “we had a very solid effort overall. We are better defensively than we played but it was a good showing for the first game.”
Second game: Mesquite
The Basketball team returned to the competition again this time being with Mesquite. This game occurred on November 14 with the team ready to continue the momentum set for the first game and the overall 2017-2018 season. Mesquite has been known for its competitiveness and the Rangers were ready to be as defensively alert as with Harker Heights.
Starting at a rough start in the first quarter, this did not stop the Rangers from pushing through towards the very end. Reid Hatzmann ’18 believed that although “they did have a hard start, their play bettered throughout the game and eventually they were under control of the ball.”
The team ended with the Win of 65-43 making it their second consecutive win this year. The team was able to synchronize in a way that made it possible for each player to be able to compete better offensively towards the end of the game. Marcus Hill ’18 thought himself that their defense improved. The team according to him, “did a good job of sharing the ball in the game and trying importantly to make the shot.” And as for the defense, he believed the “team got key stops on defense and improved as the game went on”.
Keegan Nwosu ’18, with a career-high of 21 points against Harker heights believed that the team did have a firm grip towards the end of the 1st quarter going into the rest of the game. Keegan knew that “Mesquite was always very well coached and runs an offense that can be tiring to guard at times.” Although the hardest part for the team was during the first quarter, Keegan persevered and “tried to get his teammates involved and focus on the defensive side of the ball” which eventually led to their win. Overall the team felt good about how they played.
Third game: Denton
The Basketball team does it again! Now being 3-0, Jesuit has set a trajectory path that promises more wins to come. This time being Junior Max Abmas lead Jesuit with a season-best of 24 points. Senior Marcus Hill added 11 points with teammate Michael Jankovich adding 10 points for the team effort.
With a consistent lead throughout the four quarters, the team ended with a whopping 28 points ahead of Denton with the final score being 69-41. Reid Hatzmann believed that overall it was the best collective effort they have had in all three first games. It was the first great game where everyone including the audience knew of the team’s great potential for a good year to come. Importantly, Reid wanted to emphasize how the crowd made the difference. “the fans made the game special and helped us to fight for the win.” Overall, Reid believed that the defense has continued to excel as “they stayed focused on defense that helped them keep our lead strong.” Marcus Hill believed that the success of the team was that the “defense was one of the best we had had so far and that the year should be seen as hopeful with the continued way we have been playing.” Keegan who had an excellent run in the last two games believed that “the team was very quick so they had to focus on their help defense”. Importantly the team moved the ball efficiently and cautiously to score and were able to get many easy turnovers thanks to all the teams’ efforts.
With a strong start, the Jesuit Rangers head into their season with their eyes forward and heads held high! Tune in to The Roundup for more Varsity Basketball coverage!
