Jesuit Takes Close Win over Pleasant Grove

The Marauders have found a way to grind out wins all season and got what may have been their biggest win so far this year by narrowly hanging on to beat Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove on Friday 68-66.

Jesuit overcame a slow start, then gave up a double-digit lead to the Eagles before taking the win before an excited home crowd on at Barry Gymnasium.

The Marauders were led by junior forward Parker Uu who scored 20 points while senior forward Rhys Hoskins had 10 and junior guard Brian Glodowski finished with 9. Junior center Arik Armstead led Pleasant Grove with 18 points.

With the win, Jesuit all but guaranteed itself a home game when the basketball section playoffs begin next week. The team will find out its fate on Sunday, Jesuit head coach Greg Harcos said.

"We knew this game would count," Uu said. "Our school got the crowd popping and that helped us."

But the Eagles got off to a 9-2 start, led by the 6'8", 285-lb. Armstead, who charged his way into the paint for easy baskets and early fouls against Jesuit defenders.

The Marauders picked things up and the game remained close after one quarter with Pleasant Grove leading 20-19. At the half, Jesuit led 39-36.

The third quarter belonged to Jesuit, who took an 11-point lead with a score of 60-49 heading into the fourth.

But the Eagles slowly started to chip away at the lead and the score was tied at 64 with less than a minute remaining. Senior guard Alex DiManno then hit a go-ahead three pointer with about 35 seconds remaining that ended up winning the game after some late free throws.

"Senior Night was a big game; we had to get this one done," DiManno said. "Our and the crowd lifted us up tonight."

Harcos acknowledged both Jesuit's sloppy play at times but also DiManno's big shot.

"We've gotten up (with leads) and we need to finish games better," he said. "Alex made a giant shot; he's got ice water in his veins. I had no doubt it was going in."

Harcos said that, mathematically, Jesuit should get a Top 8 seeding for the playoffs, which would mean hosting a game next week.

"We'll rest and get better," he said.

On Friday, it was about squeaking out a win over a challenging opponent but the players say they want to keep the good times rolling.

"We've worked hard the whole year," Hoskins said. "We have to keep playing hard and go as far as we can."