St. Xavier, Male compete in the Grind Session Louisville against California schools

No. 2 St. Xavier is hosting their second national basketball jamboree of the season, going even bigger than December’s MADE Hoops Main Event, with teams coming in from California to Florida to Ontario, Canada. A whopping 21 games are being played throughout the weekend of Jan. 2-4 in the Grind Session Louisville.

Here is the schedule and results as of Jan. 3:

Friday, Jan 2:

• Victory Rock Prep (FL) 63, Orangeville Prep (ON, CAN) 53
• St. Joseph (CA) 82, No. 5 Daviess Co. 70
• iSchool (TX) 76, DNA Prep (CA) 63
• Zephyrhills Christian (FL) 100, Gillion Academy (VA) 90

Saturday, Jan. 3:

• Hamilton Heights (TN) 73, Life Prep (KS) 50 — Women
• DNA Prep (CA) 94, Gillion Academy (VA) 89
• Huntington Expression Prep (WV) 88, iSchool (TX) 80
• The Rock (FL) 107, Winston Christian Salem (NC) 104
• Zephyrhills Christian (FL) 81, DME Academy (FL) 68
• No. 2 St. Xavier 65, St. Joseph (CA) 64
• DNA Prep (CA) 78, No. 1 Male 68

*Games played at Fern Creek High School are unreported.

Sunday, Jan. 4:

• Winston Salem Christian (NC) vs. DME Academy (FL) at Noon
• The Rock (FL) vs. Tri-City Prep (ON, CAN) at 1:45 p.m.
• Life Prep (KS) vs. Example Academy (IL) at 3:30 p.m. — Women
• Huntington Expression Prep (WV) vs. Example Varsity (IL) at 5:15 p.m. — Women
• Phenom Scholastic (KS) vs. Hamilton Heights (TN) at 7 p.m. — Women

This is St. Xavier’s (9-3) first week not as the number one team in the state, as they lost to current No. 1 Male (11-3) 60-58 in the King of the Bluegrass championship. Male kicked off the KOB with a win over Greenville (TN), then stormed through Kentucky’s toughest gauntlet, defeating the state’s top three teams at the time consecutively: Covington Catholic, Frederick Douglass, and St. Xavier.

“It’s a target on our back, and we embrace that,” said Male coach Tim Haworth. “We want to play with pressure…I’d rather be one than 100.”

In between, Male traveled to Tennessee to compete in the Iverson Classic, going 1-1, including a hard-fought 73-62 loss against AJ Williams (No. 1 player in class of 2028) and Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy.

St. Xavier also traveled the weekend after Christmas, going 1-2 in New York at the MADE Hoops Jordan Holiday Classic.

St. Xavier vs. St. Joseph

St. Xavier looked to bounce back against another number one team: St. Joseph (16-2) of California. Luckily for coach Kevin Klein, he liked what he saw of his team the day before.

“We had one of our best practices of the year yesterday,” said Klein. “Eight through 13 really battling our top guys and exposed them in certain areas and got them ready to compete against a team like this.”

Practice looked like it paid off when St. Xavier jumped to a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, with Josh Lindsay (No. 35 overall in 2028) getting the student section hype with an alley-oop dunk. Lindsay recently visited Kentucky at the Bellarmine game.

“It was surreal,” Lindsay said of his visit. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity that they allowed me to be part of their program.”

Lindsay finished with 12 points, including a couple of momentum-shifting dunks.

However, the Knights would claw back and take the lead at halftime 36-35, due to their efficient three-point shooting, going 5-for-7 in the half.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, but the Tigers found their groove again late in the fourth, extending the lead 63-56 with under two minutes to go on a Chief Cameron three.

St. Joseph’s was not done, though, as Stanford-commit Julius Price would hit a fadeaway corner three to take the lead 64-63 with 30 seconds to go.

St. Xavier’s Cameron responded in a solo effort, taking the ball up the court and crafting his way into a reverse layup with just seconds to go, retaking the lead 65-64. Price raced down the court and tossed up a layup, only to sit on the front rim and have gravity push it the wrong way. The Tigers escaped their home court with a challenging win.

Cameron and senior Jeremiah Jackson both had efficient shooting nights, combining 10-for-15 from the field. Jackson led the Tigers with 20 points, and Cameron finished with 12 points, six assists, and four steals.

“So we were trying to get Jeremiah downhill… And we always say it’s point five basketball when the play breaks down,” said coach Kevin Klein on the final play. “Chief got to the paint, and he ultimately had a really good look at the rim.”

St. Joseph dominated the rebound battle 25-13 with their overwhelming height and length, with three players listed at 6-9, but that would ultimately not matter in crowning the victor.

Male vs. DNA Prep

DNA Prep played on tired legs, suiting up for their third game in two days. But that didn’t hinder them as they coasted to a 78-68 victory over Male, winning each quarter.

Male’s Jordan Mitchell led the Bulldogs with 25 points, with 12 in the third quarter. Jaymes Clark also led a fourth-quarter push, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter to complete his 20-point scoring effort.

Even with the loss, the team embraces its new spot atop the state polls and competition against nationally-ranked teams.

“Everyone wants to beat us. But to be honest, for us, it [KOB] wasn’t an upset. We knew we were gonna win just by the preparation,” said Mitchell. “Facing these good teams, like the one we just played, that’s probably one of the best teams you can play all year… I feel like it really prepares us for our region.”

Trey Hillerich is a 6-10 sophomore on Male who visited Kentucky in their game versus Indiana.

“It was great. Coaches were great. The atmosphere is what really stood out to me. People all the time cheering when Kentucky would do something good, like they would erupt. I love that about it,” said Hillerich.