Kentucky’s top four teams — Covington Catholic, Daviess County, Madison Central, and St. Xavier — have set themselves apart from the rest of the Bluegrass, each holding the No. 1 ranking over the past four weeks.
But No. 5 Jeffersontown (17-4), quietly climbing the rankings all season long with a chance to shake up this elite quartet, saw its opportunity against the No. 4 Tigers (19-7) slip away in a 55-42 loss on Friday night.
Late in the third quarter, St. Xavier earned their first lead of the game, 31-30, thanks to a Bryce Johnson three-pointer. The next possession, Johnson scored on a putback layup, turning the tide for the Tigers.
“I really just wanted to help my team get the lead and do the best that I can,” said Johnson. “Coach Vaughn calls it the mashed potatoes guy, just trying to be the glue guy. So that’s my role, and I’ve really been trying to pride myself in my role.”
J-Town was able to tie the game at 38 in the third quarter, but a Josh Lindsay three, a Jeremiah Jackson full-court assist to Connor Klein, and a Lindsay acrobatic layup put the Chargers out of reach, and St. Xavier further stretched their lead with free throws.
St. Xavier coach Kevin Klein was proud of his team pulling out a road win against a top team in Kentucky.
“Was proud of our resolve. We had one basket, one field goal in the first quarter,” said Klein. “I thought our toughness, togetherness, defense and defensive rebounding carried us in the second half.”
The Tigers outrebounded J-Town 29-17 in the second half, and forced a field goal percentage of just 30.3%.
A lone Jeremiah Jackson layup was the only Tigers field goal in the first quarter, as J-Town jumped out to an 11-3 lead with the Chargers forcing three straight steals at one point.
“We have no choice but to come in with a different mindset. We’ve been starting off slow against other teams, so our game plan was to come in fast and play harder than we usually do,” said Larron Westmoreland, J-Town forward.
Westmoreland finished with four points and five boards, but more notable is earlier in the day he committed to Kentucky football as a three-star safety.
“Coach (Will) Stein, Coach (Pete) Nochta I feel like I have a really good relationship with,” said Westmoreland on his commitment. “That’s the place for me.”
Back to the hardwood, the Tigers slowly pulled back into the game, narrowing the deficit to 21-17 at the half, and came out in the third quarter with high-flying dunks from Lindsay and Jordan Jackson to set up Johnson for his lead-taking buckets.
“In the second half, the ball had much more energy, more guys touching it. It shifted the defense, led to better shots,” said Klein.
Lindsay finished with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, with his teammate, Jeremiah Jackson, not far behind with 14 points and eight boards of his own.
The Chargers had only one scorer in double figures, Dayvone Harrison’s 11-point output.
Despite the loss, J-Town is a force to be reckoned with in the 6th Region. J-Town started the season in a 0-2 hole, but won 17 of their last 19, with both losses in this stretch coming to these Tigers.
Earlier in the season, St. Xavier won 72-56 in the L.I.T. championship, the Tigers’ third straight. It served as revenge, as the Chargers knocked them out 64-59 in last year’s first round of the KHSAA Sweet 16, in what many considered an upset.
For these Louisville foes, another chapter was written on Friday night, adding to the series’ compelling recent history.