George Rogers Clark tops St. Xavier in OT for KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 title
The George Rogers Clark Cardinals held off the St. Xavier Tigers in overtime to capture the KHSAA boys basketball Sweet 16 championship at Rupp Arena.
LEXINGTON — Overlooked most of the season, the George Rogers Clark High School boys basketball team made history Saturday night. The Cardinals rallied in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then hit 14 of 16 free throws in the extra period to stun St. Xavier 58-50 in the championship game of the UK HealthCare Boys Sweet 16.
A crowd of 11,780 at Rupp Arena saw GRC join Ashland (1928) as the only schools in state history to sweep the boys and girls basketball state championships. GRC beat Assumption 48-43 in last week’s Girls Sweet 16 final. No.
3-ranked St. Xavier (29-8) finished a third straight season with a stunning loss, adding Saturday night to a loss to Seneca in the semifinals of the 2024 Seventh Region Tournament and to Jeffersontown in the first round of last year’s Sweet 16. The Tigers were seeking their first state title since 1962.
St. X took a 44-40 lead on Chief Cameron’s 3-point play with 2:58 left in regulation but didn’t score again until overtime. Montez Gay’s basket tied the score at 44 with 1:19 left.