‘Don’t let up.’ Upset last season, St. X closes out battle of Sweet 16 favorites
Last season, a St. Xavier squad unbeaten against Kentucky competition was a prohibitive favorite entering the UK HealthCare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16. Then first-round foe Jeffersontown rallied late for a first-round stunner and year-long bragging rights in Jefferson County.
This year it was the Tigers’ turn to come from behind. A dominating mid-game run fueled their 75-61 win over Covington Catholic to tip off this year’s state tournament Wednesday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
St. X (27-7), ranked No. 3 in the final Kentucky Media Elite 16 media poll of the season, again entered as a perceived favorite, though not as mighty of one — in part because CovCath (31-3) was ranked ahead of it at No. 2. (The No. 1 team in the final poll, Madison Central, was eliminated in the 11th Region semifinals).
Five St. X turnovers in the opening quarter enabled the Colonels to build a 24-17 first-quarter lead that extended to 28-17 early in the second frame. From there, St. X closed the quarter on a 24-7 run. The Tigers on a 3-pointer from Josh Lindsay pushed it all the way to 34-10 out of halftime.
“(We) had a huge second quarter to carry a lot of momentum into the locker room and I don’t feel like we ever really relinquished that in the second half,” St. X coach Kevin Klein said. “We knew we were gonna get their best shot, both teams are on life support. It’s win or advance.”
CovCath managed a healthy rally: it got within 61-55 on a Braeden Myrick 3-pointer with 3:53 to go, capping a 14-4 stretch.
But the Tigers responded authoritatively: Three straight dunks — by Jordan Jackson (a putback), by Lindsay (a breakaway off a steal by Chief Cameron) and another by Jackson (off a lob from Jeremiah Jackson) — put St. X ahead by double digits for the remainder.
“We’re always looking in front of us, not too far back, but I definitely told some of the guys before and during halftime that we’ve been in this situation before — been up nine, 12, however many points it was (last year) — ‘Don’t let up,’” Jeremiah Jackson said. “Keep coming, keep playing hard. It worked out.”
A transition 3-pointer by Lindsay left no doubt about the outcome with under 2 minutes to play. He led the Tigers with 21 points and was 5 for 6 from behind the 3-point line.
The Tigers overall shot 12 of 18 (66.7%) from beyond the arc, just outpacing their overall clip from the floor (30 of 48, 62.5%)
“When we’re at our best, we’re getting stops and getting out and running,” CovCath coach Jake Thelen said. “When they make shots the way they did, you’ve gotta tip your cap to ’em.”
Bryce Johnson, a St. X senior, erupted off the bench for 12 points, all on 3-pointers and three of those in the second quarter. His last make, the second of back-to-back connections, gave the Tigers a 36-33 lead with 1:28 left that they held from there.
CovCath limited Jeremiah Jackson, St. X’s leading scorer (16.5 ppg) and a Mr. Basketball finalist, to just two points on 1 for 3 shooting, but the senior dished out seven assists. Cameron, also a senior, had six helpers to go along with 14 points.
Three of Jeremiah’s assists went to Jordan Jackson, who had 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists in about 25 minutes of play. His motor was in high-gear during the Tigers’ pivotal run; in a minute-long stretch late in the second quarter, he made a dunk, assisted on the tying 3-pointer by Johnson and blocked the shot that gave way to Johnson’s go-ahead trey.
“He impacts the game in so many ways,” Klein said of the 6-foot-7 sophomore. “ … He’s the energizer bunny. He alters shots at the rim, he made 3s last game. … All you’ve got do is get it to the rim and he’s going to flush it.”
Myrick had 19 points to lead CovCath.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 2:26 PM.