GRC survives with thrilling 53-45 victory over North Oldham in Sweet 16 semifinals

For the third time in five years, George Rogers Clark is playing in the final game of the high school season.

On Saturday afternoon in Rupp Arena, the No. 5 GRC Cardinals (32-4) won a 53-45 thriller over the No. 3 North Oldham Mustangs (27-6) in the second semifinal of the UK HealthCare Boys Basketball Sweet 16®. It wasn’t until the closing minute of the fourth quarter that GRC was able to create the separation needed for a win.

Despite 22 points (5-12 3PT) from North Oldham eighth grader Pierre Rondo (son of former Kentucky/NBA player Rajon Rondo), the Cardinals were able to limit everyone else. Junior Tommy Gregg chipped in 10 points, but no other Mustang scored more than six. Tired legs and a lack of bench depth after playing three games in three days ultimately hurt North Oldam — participating in the school’s first-ever state semifinals — down the stretch.

“In this tournament, you gotta really grind, you gotta have a guy or two off the bench that really comes in and hits some shots,” North Oldham head coach David Levitch said postgame. “Yesterday we did. But two of our guys didn’t come out the last two games. I think we got a little tired.”

GRC defeats North Oldham 53-45

Chance to be first program in KHSAA history to win Girls & Boys championship in same year

Montez Gay 12 PTS – 60% FG – 3 BLKS
Amari Bartelson 10 PTS – 10 REB – 3rd Double Double at State
Ryder Akins 10 PTS – 3 REB – 3 AST@WinCity_BBall @KSRonX pic.twitter.com/7YCM6sAzpa

— SterlingVision (@sterlingvis1) March 21, 2026

That fatigue showed up late. After the Mustangs shot 6-9 from deep in the first half, GRC held them to just a 4-17 mark in the final two frames. The Cardinals did a great job of keeping North Oldham on the perimeter while dominating the paint on offense. GRC scored 14 more points in the paint (26-12), also winning the fastbreak battle 14-2.

“It’s not gonna be easy. It never is,” GRC head coach Josh Cook said. “There’s a lot of grit about this team. Basketball is a game of runs, but you just see us keep fighting.

“…Our guys, they won the toughness battle in that game. I thought that was number one on our circle to win that game.”

It was a high-energy start with an entertaining pace from the opening tip. Both teams were trading blows, North Oldham doing its damage from long range while GRC was working inside. But the Cardinals hit deep shots when needed. After making just one triple in Friday’s quarterfinals, they hit their first two in this one.

Rondo was quick to heat up from distance in what was a fun battle against GRC point guard Malachi Ashford, the 10th Region Player of the Year. Rondo was 4-6 from three-point range through the first half of action. But six team turnovers from North Oldham hurt the momentum, allowing GRC to take a 27-24 lead into the intermission.

The Cardinals continued to maintain a minor lead throughout the second half. After North Oldham tied the game at 37 deep into the third quarter, a timely 5-0 run from GRC off a three-pointer and a fastbreak dunk gave them the lead going into the fourth. The Mustangs fought back in the final frame, even holding GRC without a field goal for over four minutes, but couldn’t get closer than three points as the clock ran down.

Rondo’s potential game-tying three-pointer with under 60 seconds to go didn’t drop, leading to a run-out layup the other way for GRC. The eighth-grade star was held to just eight points in the second half after a hot-shooting start.

“We had a few disagreements on the floor. I’m just being honest, I love our guys,” Cook said about defending Rondo. “We talked about going under (ballscreens) early to see if he made some shots, and then we said we wouldn’t go under, but we continued to go under. And then he made shots.

“What really benefited us late was switching and then keeping him in front.”

GRC received double-figure games from a trio of Cardinals. Junior Montez Gay was the team’s leading scorer with 12 points in addition to his four rebounds and three blocks. Senior Amari Bartelson posted his third straight double-double of the tournament with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Ryder Akins chipped in 10 points for good measure while Ashford added nine.

The stage is now officially set for Saturday night’s championship matchup. GRC will take on top-ranked St. Xavier at 7:30 p.m. ET back inside Rupp. The Tigers, which haven’t won the Sweet 16 since 1962, knocked Grayson County out of the bracket with a 30-point win earlier in the day.

GRC is looking to become just the first school to see both its Boys and Girls basketball teams win a state championship since Ashland did it all the way back in 1928. The Lady Cardinals beat Assumption 48-43 in last week’s championship game.

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