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Top-ranked St. Xavier holds on in quarterfinals despite late North Laurel rally

Troy Howellby: Troy Howell03/20/26

The No. 1 St. Xavier Tigers defeated the No. 10 North Laurel Jaguars 46-44 in the quarterfinals of the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16Ⓡ on Friday.

Jeremiah Jackson hit four key free throws down the stretch, including two with five seconds remaining, to stave off a furious North Laurel rally.

“This was a war. Down the stretch it was just a matter of a will to win,” St. Xavier Coach Kevn Klein said postgame. “Jeremiah (Jackson) is built for these moments. He wants those moments, to get to a game we haven’t been to since 1962.”

Jordan Jackson and Jeremiah Jackson led St. Xavier with 10 points each and combined to get a key defensive stop on Reece Davidson inside the final seconds. Jeremiah Jackson, who played great defense on Davidson throughout the game, added three rebounds and three assists. Jordan Jackson had several thunderous dunks, five rebounds, three blocks and altered numerous shots. 

Connor Klein and Josh Lindsay (a top 30 recruit nationally in 2028) added eight points, while Chief Cameron had seven points, three assists, and two steals.

St. Xavier held North Laurel to 2-10 first-quarter shooting. Klein’s three-pointer right before the horn gave the Tigers a 12-4 lead.

North Laurel got within two points thanks to three pointers from Jordan Rawlings and Kaiden Allen, but Jordan Jackson answered with a pair of dunks to swing the momentum back to the Tigers. St. Xavier took a 25-18 lead into the locker room. Klein led the Tigers with seven first-half points on 3-of-3 shooting. Davidson had eight for North Laurel.

The Tigers maintained a steady lead through most of the third quarter by not giving the Jaguars anything easy at the rim. Jordan Jackson protected the rim with a pair of other blocks, along with several more shot alterations. North Laurel got an old-fashioned three-point play, a Davidson bucket, and a Rawlings trey to close the third quarter on a 7-2 run and pull within 35-32.

The Jaguars pulled within 37-36 on an Allen three-pointer but Jordan Jackson countered with another slam dunk to push the St. Xavier lead to three. After a missed North Laurel three-pointer, Klein cashed in on one of two free throws to make it 40-36 St. Xavier with 2:06 remaining.

Davidson’s nice feed to Corey Cunagin for an inside bucket brought North Laurel to within 40-38, but St. Xavier held the ball for over a minute before Jeremiah Jackson hit two free throws. Davidson went one-for-two from the charity stripe with 33 seconds remaining.

Lindsay answered with two free throws, but Cooper Elza’s corner three brought North Laurel to within two points with 18 seconds remaining. North Laurel forced a turnover and called timeout, but Jordan Jackson provided good help-side defense to turn away a Davidson layup attempt. Jeremiah Jackson’s two free throws salted the game away.

Davidson, a Liberty commit, led North Laurel with 15 points. Allen added 11 points, four rebounds, and two steals.

St. Xavier has now won 10 in a row, including the gauntlet of No. 6 Ballard in the 7th Region finals and No. 2 Covington Catholic in the opening round of the state tournament.

Next Up:

No. 1 St. Xavier (28-7) will take on the winner of No. 11 Grayson County (26-6) and No. 11 Great Crossing (24-11) on Saturday, March 21, at 11:00 AM at Rupp Arena. Great Crossing and current UK freshman Malachi Moreno won the 2025 state championship. St. Xavier is seeking their fifth state championship and first since 1962.

No. 10 North Laurel (29-8) saw their season come to an end in the state quarterfinals for the second straight season.

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2026-05-20