George Rogers Clark and St. Xavier to face off for 2026 Boys’ Sweet 16 crown
Tonight, the boys’ basketball state title will go home with a modern powerhouse or a long-dormant one.
George Rogers Clark and St. Xavier will play in the final game of the UK HealthCare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16. The game’s scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday at Rupp Arena.
The Cardinals (32-4) got out of a tight battle with 8th Region champion North Oldham, pulling away late at the free-throw line, in the latter of two semifinals played Saturday afternoon.
St. Xavier (30-7) advanced from the first semifinal by way of a comfortable victory over 3rd Region champion Grayson County.
St. X, ranked No. 3 in the final Kentucky Media Elite 16 poll released before postseason play, is in the championship game for the first time since 1962. That is also the last time it cut down the nets. The Tigers have three other state titles (1926, 1935, 1958).
This is the Tigers’ seventh appearance in the state finals, matching Henry Clay, Lafayette and Scott County for the second most. Ashland Blazer, Ballard and Male each have played in eight.
Clark, ranked No. 4 in the same poll, ended a seven-decade drought between boys’ state titles when it won in 2022. The Cardinals, making their fifth appearance in the championship game, won their only other title in 1951 as Clark County High School.
The matchup is almost a facsimile of the Girls’ Sweet 16 championship played last week. Clark defeated Assumption — like St. X, a private school and 7th Region champion — in that contest.
In addition, both St. Xavier and Clark feature Mr. Basketball finalists in the Tigers’ Jeremiah Jackson and the Cards’ Malachi Ashford.
If Clark’s boys win this year, it’ll be just the second time the KHSAA state champions originated from the same school in the same season. The other: Ashland in 1928.
Here’s how Clark and St. Xavier made it to Saturday night.
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George Rogers Clark 53, North Oldham 45
Clark used a 7-3 run in the final 2:03 of the game to close out the Mustangs in the back half of Saturday’s twin bill.
Four of the Cardinals’ points in that stretch originated from an unlikely source: 6-7 senior forward Amari Bartelson, a 40-percent shooter at the stripe this season. Bartelson got a couple of friendly rolls, but watched all four of his attempts go through the net in crunch time.
“I knew I had to knock ’em down to seal the game,” said Bartelson, whose first trip to the line seemed to be an intentional choice by North Oldham (27-6) after it had closed to within 46-42 with 2:36 to play. “I wasn’t thinking about my percentages. I just wanted to go knock ’em down for the team. I hit ’em.”
Bartelson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, two of them on high-leaping efforts inside the final minutes.
Clark coach Josh Cook summed up Bartelson’s play in one word: “Iceman.”
Ryder Akins also scored 10, including a 3-pointer at the end of the first half that gave the Cardinals a 27-24 lead. Montez Gay led Clark with 12 points, the last two scored on a hesitation move for a layup that drew oohs and ahhs. It put the Cardinals up 50-45 with 42 seconds to go.
The game featured seven lead changes and five ties. The last, 37-37, was undone by a 5-0 GRC run at the end of the third quarter. Lightly used reserve Haddon Cecil (he played 7:49) hit the second of two 3-pointers in the game and then Gay stole the ball at midcourt and got a dunk to fall right before the buzzer sounded.
“It’s not going to be easy, it never is,” Cook said with a smile. “There’s a lot of grit about this team. … They’re finding a way to do it together.”
Pierre Rondo, son of former UK and NBA player Rajon Rondo, was named to the All-Tournament team after an impressive Sweet 16 for anyone, let alone an eighth-grader.
He had a game-high 22 points and three assists to lead North Oldham on Saturday, following a 25-point, seven-assist night in his state tournament debut and 14-point, five-assist effort in the quarterfinals.
St. Xavier 67, Grayson County 37
The Tigers turned a two-possession game at halftime into a rout by the end of the third quarter.
Jeremiah Jackson hit a layup as time expired in the frame to punctuate an 18-0 run that stretched St. X’s lead to 25. Jackson scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. He was 10 of 17 from the floor with two 3-pointers.
“Coach (Kevin) Klein was preaching get to the paint,” Jackson said. “… I lead by example.”
Grayson County (27-6) scored the first bucket 25 seconds into the game but missed its next 10 shot attempts and seemed aimless as St. Xavier built a 19-6 lead after one quarter.
They rallied in the second quarter, spurred by seven free throws from Jack Logsdon, to get within 27-21 at halftime. Then the dam broke.
St. Xavier earned its 42nd all-time Sweet 16 victory, moving past Henry Clay for sole possession of the third-most wins. Ashland leads with 53. Owensboro next with 47.
2026 Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 State Tournament
Championship: St. Xavier (29-7) vs. George Rogers Clark (32-4), 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Available at KHSAA.org/ruppboys/.
Streaming options ($): KHSAA.tv; Go.PrepSpin.com
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 5:10 PM.
