The Jesuit High School Marauders basketball team started off their season with a bang at the Wild West Shootout in Reno. Jesuit had a successful tournament after defeating Bishop Manogue High School, Mountain View High School, and Bishop Gorman High School.

The Marauders opened up the tournament with a big 61-53 win over Bishop Manogue, the team that was hosting the tournament. In the second game of the tournament, the Marauders downed the Mountain View Toros of Mesa, Arizona with a score of 58-49.

In the championship game, the Marauders edged out the nationally ranked Bishop Gorman Gaels in a hard fought 51-49 win. The Gaels, from Las Vegas, were ranked nationally as the #11 team in the country.

Senior Isaiah Bailey poured in 30 points to go along with his 4 assists and 6 rebounds, and junior Ethan Pangelinian scored 10 points with a field goal percentage of 83% as well as grabbing 5 rebounds and getting 3 assists.

“The guys did a great job of handling adversity on the court this past weekend. All three games were very close, and being a young team we are proud they stuck together when things got tough and won all three games,” said Coach Jon Rotz, assistant coach of the varsity Basketball team.

Jesuit couldn’t have started off the season any better especially after the win over Bishop Gorman. This win is definitely a confidence booster for the marauders as they are in start of the their season.

“We have a very unselfish group who embrace their roles without hesitation, and that allows us to compete with teams who may have more talent. We have a long way to go in all areas, but this team is determined to get there,” said Coach Rotz.

The team is determined to work hard in order to compete against the best teams in the nation.