Special Night for Jesuit takes them to the second round
Richardson - Junior Marcus Hill (18 points) and senior Mitch Prendergast (17 points) lead Dallas Jesuit to a 65-61 first round bi-district win Tuesday night at Berkner High School, over Rowlett. The win advanced the Rangers to the second round where they will face The Woodlands, Friday, in College Station.
The game started in favor of the Rowlett Eagles as they stormed to an early 7-0 lead and then added a 10-0 run to eventually take a 33-21 lead into halftime.
Head coach Chris Hill of Jesuit thought that it was nerves and the Rangers would come out in the second half by kicking the doors down on their way to a 19-2 run to take the lead 40-35.
“It was our defense, that led to our comeback,” said Hill whose Rangers gave up only four third-quarter points. “I thought the guys were too tight and when they came out of the locker room, they were more relaxed and the nerves were gone. I really think it was the emotion and the environment that got to us early.”
Down by double digits, the Rangers capitalized on the Eagles one and done offensive efforts.
“We couldn't get stops in the second quarter,” Said Hill. “It was so hard for us to run [in transition] when Rowlett was making everything. We finally gave ourselves opportunities by rebounding and converting on offense.
“This was a huge team win. Everyone contributed from Marcus Hill (no relation) to Mitch Prendergast, Keagan Nwosu and especially Reid Hatzmann who has been the unsung hero of this team. No one realizes it, but he makes this team go, and he did a great job of getting the ball to his teammates,” concluded Hill.
Prendergast, who is a senior leader for the Rangers said that coach Hill let the team know that the game could change if they played together.
“We came out with confidence,” said Prendergast. “Coach Hill told us to stick together, and that's how we were going to get back into this game.”
After taking the lead, Jesuit continued their second half dominance by extending their lead with a 30-6 run (51-39).
Hill knew that this was a tough match for his Dallas Jesuit Rangers, and after the game, he showed a great deal of joyful emotion to his team.
“This has turned out to be a special night for our team.”
In the final eight minutes of play, Rowlett junior guard Joel Murray scored 10 points giving him 17 for the game.
Other players in double -digits, Alex Minter for Rowlett totaled 16 after hitting 10 first half points. Teammate Branden Bell scored 12 of his own.
For Jesuit, Alan Garcia tallied 14, scoring inside the paint and from the free-throw line.