On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Jesuit High School Sacramento’s Varsity Basketball team faced off against Cordova High School and had one of their highest scoring games of the season. Beating CHS 94-63, the Marauders came out with a win and advanced to the quarter-finals in the Section playoffs.

The game started out fast for Jesuit, and after three minutes, they found themselves up 13-0. With a few minutes remaining in the first quarter, Kevin Haupt ’24 threw a lob for an alley-oop to Cole Epperson ’24, setting the tone for the night. In the final seconds of the first, Cole went out on a fast break, and threw it down again to make the score 35-8 going into the second quarter. 

CHS started the second fast with an 11-0 run and the CHS crowd was getting excited. The Lancers outscored the Jesuit boys 25-19 in the second quarter, chipping away at the lead, making the game 54-33 Jesuit going into the second half. 

Jesuit responded in the third, building the lead back to 27, and increased it to 31 in the fourth, to make the final score 94-63. Defense was a little lacking for the Marauders; nonetheless, CHS couldn’t hang with the offense, and it was apparent on the scoreboard when the buzzer went off. 

Jesuit’s momentum and dominance carried through to the next game with a 70-49 win against Burbank. There wasn’t a poor performance on the team.

Kevin had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, leading the team in points, as he does often. Cole had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals, an excellent night all around. Forward Nathat Brown ’24 had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals, a great night defensively for the senior. Guard Ahjani Lewis ’23 had 13 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals, another solid performance. 

The next game would not come as easy as the first two, however, as the Marauders faced Del Oro High School in the semifinals.

The first quarter was evenly matched, with DOHS ahead by three at the buzzer. The second quarter seemed just as close, although it was significantly more physical, which resulted in Cole getting a technical foul. It was 42-36 DOHS at the half.

The game picked up in the third quarter, with Jesuit holding DOHS’s offense to a mere 6 points, while scoring 15 for themselves. Jesuit found themselves up by 3 points at the quarter break, with the momentum going their way. It seemed as if the Marauders would be able to pull off the win.

DOHS had other plans, however, and started working the low post. They started to pull away, and an important three made by Kevin was taken away on a foul by Cole. 

With only a few seconds left in the game, Jesuit found themselves down 4, and as the buzzer sounded, hopes for the blue banner were gone. 

Kevin had another good game in the loss, with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. 

The team recorded 13 turnovers and 14 fouls, and without the unstoppable offense, mistakes likely led to the devastating loss to the same school that knocked Jesuit out of the football playoffs. 

Despite the loss, the Marauders moved on to the state tournament, where they played against Benicia High School on Tuesday, Feb. 27, and won a nailbiter. Be on the lookout for The Plank’s Wrap of the Norcal tournament in the coming weeks.