On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Jesuit High School Sacramento varsity basketball team won a thriller against the Destiny Christian Academy Lions. The sold out crowd in the Father Barry Gymnasium witnessed a 65-55 win for the Northern California title. Once again, the team displayed incredible teamwork and a strong sense of pride.

A raucous student section greeted the team as they walked onto the court following the national anthem. After a short delay due to a uniform issue, the game began.

In the first quarter, Destiny Christian got out to an early 5-2 lead. Shortly after, Jesuit pulled ahead, extending their lead to 8 points on a 13-2 run. From then on, it was a back and forth affair, with Jesuit managing to pull away thanks to two clutch three-pointers from Asher Schroeder ’25 to make the score 18-12 at the end of the first.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Marauders got off to a hot start, matching a Lion’s layup with two big three-pointers; however, the Lions countered with a 14-4 run, led by guard Jaylen Valdez, to tie the game at 28-28 with just under two minutes to go in the first half. The Marauders responded and were able to take a 32-28 lead into halftime.

As the third quarter started, the student section chanted the famous “Triple J,” urging their team on. Both teams got out of halftime on fire, with Jesuit being the team to eventually pull away through a series of tough layups and jumpers. From then on, Jesuit would remain in the lead by at least two possessions, ending the third quarter with a 45-39 lead.

The fourth quarter began with a 12-4 scoring run from Jesuit, giving the Marauders a comfortable 12-point lead with around 3 minutes left in the game. Destiny Christian cut the lead down to as little as 6, before Amaury “Big Drip” McKinney ’25 sealed the game with an emphatic slam, bringing all Jesuit fans in the gym to their feet. Luke Browne ’25 also came in clutch, going 4/4 from the free-throw line in the final minutes of the game.

With this win, Jesuit secured their first NorCal Championship since 1994, in their first appearance since 2012. On Saturday, March 15, the Jesuit Marauders will head to the Golden 1 Center to play in the basketball state championship against the Alijah Arenas-led Chatsworth High School Chancellors.