Pierce Popelka’s 20 points powered Jesuit Dallas to a blowout win Tuesday in the first round of the Class 6A Division 2 playoffs.
The Rangers (18-13) dispatched of Arlington Bowie (10-22), 71-49, and led wire-to-wire, including 18-6 at the end of the first quarter and 34-20 at halftime using a 22-4 run spanning the two periods.
In addition to 20 from Popelka, Jesuit received a career-high 14 points off the bench from Nicholas Pregler and 11 from Cooper Jensen.
The Rangers shot 60 percent from the field as a team and converted nine 3-pointers while outrebounding Bowie, 35-26, with eight coming from Pregler.
With the win, Jesuit advances to the area round and will face Little Elm at 7 p.m. Friday at Flower Mound.
The Lobos (32-2) are ranked third in 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and defeated McKinney in the bi-district round, 77-46.
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While Jesuit is moving on, a pair of local 5A teams were eliminated.
In Division 1, WT White saw its season come to a close in a 57-54 loss to Dallas Seagoville despite a game-high 24 points from Josh Jimison. Coby Sims and Trey Williams chipped in 12 apiece for the Longhorns, while Willie Frazier and Adam West matched each other with a team-high 18 points for Seagoville.
In Division 2, Hillcrest was knocked out by Mesquite Poteet, 54-33.
