Senior Drew Black elevates to the basket to score two of his 17 points in the victory over John Curtis.

On Tuesday night in the Birdcage, the Jesuit basketball team improved its district record to 4-1 with a 59-43 victory over the John Curtis Patriots. Although the team won by a comfortable margin, the victory certainly wasn’t effortless. The Jays’ hallmark defense contained the Patriots all night, and the intensity of play made for an impressive performance.

View the Jesuit vs John Curtis Basketball Photo Gallery

The game opened with a scoring frenzy for the Blue Jays. The team jumped out to a 11-2 lead after just four minutes of play. Senior Drew Black had his second consecutive double-digit performance and led the charge from the beginning, scoring six of the Jays 11 early points. John Curtis wisely called for a time-out, and the winds of fate changed abruptly as Curtis mounted a 7-0 run of their own to narrow the lead to two points at the end of the quarter.

Junior Noah Varnado lays it up in front of a packed house at the Birdcage.

Although the Jays outscored the Patriots 13-6 in the 2nd Quarter, it was not the most graceful quarter of basketball Jesuit has played this season. A combination of missed shots and mindless turnovers by the Jays had fans scratching their heads. The good news, though, was that the Jesuit defense completely frustrated any efforts Curtis made to put points on the board, and the Jays led by nine at the half.

The Blue Jays opened the second half just like they opened the first, lighting it up from the field. Elijah Morgan knocked down two 3-pointers to light the spark. Drew Black added a mid-range jumper, and Michael Hull continued the momentum with a couple of shots, one from behind the arc. Just like that, the Jays lead extended to 15 points, and they never looked back. Elijah Morgan led all scorers with 24 points, and Drew Black added 17.

Although the offense for the Jays was touch-and-go as the team amassed 18 turnovers, the defense set the tone for the entire evening. The team maintained smothering man-to-man pressure from tip to final buzzer that simply wore Curtis down. The contest ended with a Blue Jay victory, 59-43.

The team is next in action on Friday night against Warren Easton at Jesuit at 7:30 PM. The event will be the alumni Homecoming, welcoming former basketball players and all alumni back to the Birdcage to see the arena’s renovations and to watch today’s team battle it out against the Eagles. Admission will be free for all who attend.

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