Rangers Head to Regional Tournament
After narrow escapes and dramatic comebacks in the first two rounds, Jesuit pulled a surprise on Tuesday against Rockwall, rolling to a lopsided 69-46 victory in the Class 6A Region II quarterfinals in Richardson.
The Rangers (23-10) advance to the regional semifinals for the first time in program history, where they will face unbeaten Klein Forest at 6 p.m. Friday at Ellis Davis Field House.
Jesuit took advantage of cold shooting by the Yellowjackets (22-11), who connected on just one 3-pointer and were 7-of-17 from the free-throw line, and gradually pulled away after taking an early lead.
Michael Jankovich scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Rangers, while Marcus Hill added 16 points and seven rebounds. Reid Hatzmann contributed eight points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Jeff Grimes grabbed nine rebounds off the bench.
Jarrod Winston-Pendleton tallied 16 points to pace Rockwall, which won the District 11-6A title during the regular season and came into the Jesuit game with momentum after a triple-overtime win over South Garland in the prior round.
Meanwhile, the Rangers rallied in each of their first two postseason games against Rowlett and The Woodlands. Now they must turn their attention to Klein Forest (33-0), which has averaged more than 92 points per game in its three playoff wins.
