Elijah Morgan hits this fourth quarter three pointer to cushion the Jays’ lead as the game winds down.

After two stunning offensive performances against Holy Cross and John Curtis, the basketball team struggled from the field but endured to defeat the Shaw Eagles, 49-41, on Friday night in the Birdcage.

In the two previous games, the Jays hit big shot after big shot to put the team past the 70 point mark in high energy, competitive games. Although the team was just short of 50 points on Friday and shot just 37% from the field, the Blue Jays showed character and grit in finding a way to win despite their offensive struggles.

Tenacious defensive play, which included drawing five offensive fouls from Shaw, contributed to the victory. Hunt Conroy drew two of those charges within a minute of each other in the first half, frustrating the Shaw attack and keeping the Blue Jays in control of the game.

Elijah Morgan was the leading scorer for Jesuit, scoring 10 points. Will Hillery was just behind him with nine. Collin Kulivan, Hunt Conroy, and Chris Beebe each had seven.

Hillery also was responsible for a series in the third quarter which knocked back a Shaw attempt to narrow the lead. Within 15 seconds, Hillery stole the ball and converted a layup over two defenders from Shaw, then hustled back on defense to draw a charge to regain possession of the ball.

As the Jesuit basketball team continues its road through district play, doing whatever it takes to win even when the going gets tough shows that the Jays have found their rhythms as a team. In a game where Jesuit and Shaw combined for more turnovers (34) than made field goals (33), a victory is all Blue Jay fans can ask for.

The Blue Jays resume district play next week with two exciting match-ups, the first at Rummel on Tuesday night and the second at home against Brother Martin on Friday.