INSTANT CLASSIC: George Rogers Clark claims 2nd title in 5 years with OT win against St. Xavier

They call Winchester “Win City” for good reason.

On Saturday night in Rupp Arena, the No. 5 George Rogers Clark Cardinals (33-4) pulled out a 58-50 overtime win against the No. 1 St. Xavier Tigers (29-8) in an instant classic during the UK HealthCare Boys Basketball Sweet 16® championship game. Neither team led by more than six points throughout regulation in front of a packed crowd that capped out at just under 12,000 fans.

GRC claimed its second state title banner in five years and third in school history (1951, 2022) by remaining calm in crunch time. The Cardinals shot 14-16 from the free-throw line in overtime as St. Xavier struggled to put the ball in the basket. GRC becomes the first school since Ashland in 1928 to see both the Boys and Girls teams take home the championship trophy in the same season. The Lady Cardinals took down Assumption last weekend to win the Girls Sweet 16.

“I seen them enjoying it, just laughing, having fun. Just looked like we could do it.” GRC junior Jamylyn Johnson, who finished with 15 points, said of the Lady Cardinals’ victory. “I told my teammates as soon as it was over, I texted them and said it’s our turn. We came here and got the job done. It’s our turn.”

Your 2026 State Champions: GRC!@KSRonX pic.twitter.com/yesvfV3ygc

— SterlingVision (@sterlingvis1) March 22, 2026

10th Region Player of the Year Malachi Ashford was named tournament MVP for the Cardinals. The senior guard finished with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the championship bout. Ashford shot 9-10 from the free-throw line in overtime to ice the game away. Sophomore Ryder Akins rounded out the Cardinals’ trio of double-digit scorers with 10 points and five rebounds. Junior Montez Gay added nine points and eight rebounds while senior Amari Bartelson recorded four blocks.

GRC took down No. 21 Johnson Central, No. 16 Marshall County, and No. 3 North Oldham this week before polishing off the state’s top-ranked team en route to the title.

With both teams having played four games in four days (technically four games in three days for GRC), it took a few minutes early on for everyone to find their legs — everyone except Josh Lindsay. St. Xavier’s four-star sophomore was electric in the opening half, throwing down hammer dunks and drilling outside shots. He led all scorers with 11 points at halftime, highlighted by an alley-oop slam that nearly sent Rupp Arena into orbit.

The Tigers held a 14-10 lead after the first quarter. They upped the defensive pressure even more in the second quarter, forcing GRC into a few unnecessary turnovers. But it was the battle in the paint, usually dominated by the Cardinals, that swung momentum St. Xavier’s way in the first half. The Tigers controlled the offensive glass (7-0), leading to an edge in second-chance points (6-0) that was the difference in the first half.

Despite a 61.1 percent shooting clip from GRC in the first half, St. Xavier was in front 26-24 at the intermission.

View of Josh Lindsay's MONSTER alley-oop slam from the great @sterlingvis1.

Unreal. https://t.co/85XCRLKsWN pic.twitter.com/0KlJgDNYDP

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 22, 2026

Just like the start of the game, the beginning of the third quarter took a while to hit a groove, but the energy in Rupp Arena was still peaking. GRC was held scoreless for over four minutes before an Ashford three ended the drought. That later turned into a 7-0 Cardinal run, giving them a 31-30 lead. St. X would counter before the end of the frame to regain the lead.

The Tigers took their largest advantage of the night early in the final quarter, 37-31, off a Connor Klein made triple. But GRC continued to chip away, answering every St. X make with one of its own. Gay threw down a dunk with 1:19 left in regulation that tied the score at 44. Senior Jeremiah Jackson had a chance to win the game right before the buzzer for the Tigers, but lost control of the ball on his way to the rim as we needed an extra four minutes to decide this one — just the eighth-ever overtime game in Sweet 16 championship history.

In the extra period, it was all about the charity stripe. After free throws nearly cost GRC earlier in this tournament, that wasn’t the case in the title. The Cardinals used the line early and often in overtime, leaning on defense to keep St. Xavier from making a push down the stretch. The Tigers led for over 24 minutes of game time, but GRC was always within striking distance. That’s all they needed.

“Our goal was to play on Saturday when we first started,” Cardinals’ head coach Josh Cook said. “We’re gonna play on Saturday, and once we get there, just give me a shot. Give me a effort. You rebound, you play hard, and give me a shot. And I’ll do everything I can to help you, because I’m gonna give you my best. You give me your best and we’ll see what happens.

“And we’re the 2026 state champions.”

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