GRC owns the paint, fends off Marshall County rally to make state tournament semifinals

George Rogers Clark didn’t need the outside shot to stay alive, just hard-nosed basketball in the paint.

The No. 5 Cardinals (31-4) fought off a late fourth-quarter rally against the No. 16 Marshall County Marshals (25-9), winning 63-59 in Friday night’s quarterfinals at the 2026 UK HealthCare Boys Basketball Sweet 16® in Rupp Arena. GRC only made one three-pointer out of six attempts, but dominated inside with 46 paint points to reach Saturday’s semifinals.

“We just came up a little bit short,” Marshall County head coach Sawyer Donohoo said. “I thought their physicality bothered us just a little bit. We kinda clawed our way back, and like I said, just came up a tad bit short.”

Four different Cardinal players hit double-digits to keep their team going in the state tournament. Junior Montez Gay led the way with 17 points and six rebounds, while senior Amari Bartelson posted his second double-double in as many days with 10 points and 10 boards. 10th Region Player of the Year Malachi Ashford and junior Jamylyn Johnson went for 16 and 13 points, respectively, as GRC shot 51.1 percent from the field as a team.

#5 GRC dances into the semifinals with 63-59 win over Marshall Co.!

Montez Gay 17 PTS – 6 REB – 7/8 FG
Malachi Ashford 16 PTS – 4 STL
Amari Bartleson 10 PTS – 10 REB pic.twitter.com/iBoKmjBMwR

— SterlingVision (@sterlingvis1) March 21, 2026

GRC only made half of its free throw attempts (14-28) on the night, but it was a 13-19 shooting clip from the field in the third quarter that pushed the Cardinals across the finish line. Marshall County led 27-24 at the intermission before GRC went on its 18-7 third-quarter run.

“Believe it or not, our halftime speeches are actually pretty calm,” GRC head coach Josh Cook said postgame. “I think people think maybe we’re going in and we’re chewing on them. Actually we’re kinda just sitting down and they’re just kinda talking. It’s kinda impressive.”

Marshall County star junior Matthew Langhi did all he could down the stretch to will his team back into the game. 14 of his 27 points came in the final frame, just a day after he poured in 36 points against Boyd County to reach Friday’s quarterfinals. Langhi shot 9-21 from the field while chipping in five rebounds.

Freshman Braxton Burnham (14 points) and senior Neyland Jezik (13) rounded out the Marshals’ double-digit scorers. Despite keeping the rebounding battle close (33-31 in favor of GRC), they only managed 18 points in the paint as a team. Marshall County was also held to just 36.5 percent shooting, including a 2-12 mark in the third quarter that allowed GRC to build its lead.

This game was one of runs early and often. After GRC took a quick 6-2 lead, Marshall County responded with 12 straight points, seven coming from Langhi. The Cardinals went nearly five minutes without a field goal before Gay got one to fall before the first quarter buzzer. They built that momentum into a 10-0 run, which the Marshals countered with an 8-0 stretch of their own. But GRC delivered the final blow with a 10-0 run in the third quarter.

“It’s a grind, this thing,” Cook said. “If you’re trying to win it, it’s four (games) in 48 hours. Hopefully we got 24 more hours left.”

GRC was ahead by as many as a dozen midway through the fourth quarter before watching the Marshals cut that lead all the way down to three with 60 seconds left to play. But the Cardinals hit enough free throws in the final minute to reach Saturday, where they’ll face No. 3 North Oldham at 1:30 p.m. ET with a spot in the title game on the line.

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