Drew Black (34) sinks a free throw in the first half after being fouled on his put-back layup in the paint.

On Tuesday night the basketball team took on the Eagles of Archbishop Shaw in the second round of district play.

The first half was a topsy-turvy affair, with the Jays and the Eagles having identical, though inverted scoring quarters.

The Jays led the first quarter, with a 12-5 lead over Shaw going into the second quarter. The Eagles countered, outscoring the Jays 13-6 in the second quarter.

With the first half squad on shaky ground with an 18-18 tie going into the locker room at halftime, Coach Chris Jennings ’78 decided to give some other players a chance who have seen less playing time during the season.

It was a chance they eagerly took up. Sophomore Robert McMahon had a great half of play, scoring seven points and pulling down three boards, and sophomore Noah Varnado and senior Michael LaForge added six points each. Add that to the seven points starter Collin Kulivan scored, and the strategy worked well to ignite the second half offense.

What propelled the Jays to the 47-36 victory was controlling the turnover race. The Blue Jays only turned the ball over six times, compared to 18 times by Shaw. The Jays converted these turnovers to 20 points, nearly half their points in the game.

The win improves the Jays’ record to 16-12 overall, 5-4 in district. On Friday night, the team returns to the Birdcage to face Rummel in the second round. At the 7 PM tip off, Jesuit will seek to avenge the close loss they endured at Rummel on Jan. 17.

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