Recapping the 2022 UK Healthcare Boy's Sweet 16 Tournament

The 2022 UK Healthcare Boy’s Sweet 16 Tournament is officially in the books after George Rogers Clark beat Warren Central on Saturday night inside of Rupp Arena to earn the crown.

The four-day event brought the 16 best teams from around the state to participate, with 14 of the 16 teams in the field ranked among KSR’s Top 25. We saw early-round upsets as Kentucky commit Reed Sheppard’s North Laurel squad and Louisville commit Kaleb Glenn’s Male group were bounced in the first round. Male, ranked No. 2 in the state by KSR, actually lost in overtime to one of the final two teams: Warren Central. Additionally, we only saw a couple of blowouts, with most games amounting to low-scoring, yet thrilling, slugfests.

It had nothing to do with the lack of a shot clock, either — defense was simply what won these games. Warren Central, specifically, relied on team defense to string together three consecutive comeback victories just to reach the state finals. GRC only allowed one opponent to top 50 points, which came in a DOUBLE-overtime victory Lincoln County in the semifinals. Again, there was no shortage of action the last few days. Both GRC and Warren Central entered this tournament with two of the highest-scoring offenses in the state, but needed defense to reach the title game.

GRC brings the title to Winchester

It’s been 72 years, but George Rogers Clark is once again the Kentucky state high school basketball champions.

The No. 1 ranked Cardinals won four games over four days, taking down the Warren Central Dragons 43-42 in a nail-biter to win the crown on Saturday night. GRC was led by junior guard Jerone Morton, who finished with 14 points on 6-12 shooting and was named Tournament MVP. Senior guard Tanner Walton added 13 points and five rebounds for the Cardinals in the title game.

MVP of the 2022 Boy’s Sweet 16 Tournament.

Junior guard Jerone Morton. pic.twitter.com/rqWP6RiXmb

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 20, 2022

GRC and Warren Central battled all 32 minutes to decide a winner on Saturday. The game came down to the final possession, with junior guard Izayiah Villafuerte at the line shooting a pair of free throws with his Warren Central squad down two points and roughly three seconds left on the clock. Villafuerte would hit the first and miss the second, but an offensive rebound from Omari Glover gave Warren Central a chance to win it at the buzzer. However, his shot didn’t fall.

It is the second championship in county history for GRC – Clark County High School defeated Cuba to win the 1951 state title. The Cardinals (36-1) only loss came to Dorman (SC) in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, making them the first undefeated state champion against Kentucky competition since Scott County in 2007.  

Now let’s dive into KSR’s recaps from the event, along with photo galleries and postgame press conferences from the semifinals and finals.

Tournament recap

Opening Round: Day 1

• Lincoln County 45, Jeffersontown 41
• North Oldham 36, Muhlenberg County 32
• George Rogers Clark 77, Perry County Central 36
• Pikeville 59, North Laurel 51

Opening Round: Day 2

• Lyon County 82, John Hardin 65
• Covgington Catholic 76, Ashland Blazer 65
• Murray 57, Henry Clay 53
• Warren Central 57, Male 54 (OT)

Quarterfinals

• Lincoln County 56, North Oldham 46
• George Rogers Clark 43, Pikeville 38
• Covington Catholic 59, Lyon County 57
• Warren Central 54, Murray 48

Semifinals

• George Rogers Clark 54, Lincoln County 51 (2OT)
• Warren Central 61, Covington Catholic 58

Championship

• George Rogers Clark 43, Warren Central 42