Cuba High School’s boys’ basketball team competed in the St. James Invitational Tournament on Jan. 19 and Jan. 22. The Wildcats fell to Class 6 powerhouse Rolla in the first round before losing a nailbiter against Steelville, and are now 2-15 on the season. Rolla went on to win the tournament, Blair Oaks took second place and St. James finished in third place. Both of their games in the St. James tournament are detailed below.

Cuba’s game versus on Owensville on Jan. 27 was postponed to Jan. 28, and will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Wildcats will play in Steelville for the Cardinals’ Pink Out Night on Jan. 31 before hosting three straight home games against Pacific on Feb. 2, St. Clair on Feb. 3 for senior night and Osage on Feb. 6 for courtwarming.

Jan. 19 vs. Rolla

The Class 4 Wildcats drew a tough first-round matchup against the eventual tournament champion, Rolla Bulldogs. Rolla’s players towered over Cuba’s at every position and showed that they have skills to go along with their size. The Wildcats kept it close for the first few minutes, but the Bulldogs used their length to force turnovers and turn them into quick points on the other end. Rolla led 16-2 after the first quarter and went into halftime with a 33-12 lead. The Bulldogs’ balanced attack continued to flex its muscles in the second half and took a 55-22 lead after the third quarter before coasting to a 69-27 victory over the Wildcats.

Braden Gipson and Cameron Carnal were the only Wildcats to get into any sort of rhythm offensively. Gipson scored a team-high 13 points and drained a trio of shots from long distance. Carnal added 10 points on a pair of treys, a couple of free throws, and a mid-range jumpshot. AJ Flores and Layten Eikermann each scored two points to round out the scorers for the Wildcats. Rolla had eight players score points and was led by University of Illinois commit and tournament MVP Ethan Brown, who poured in a game-high 20 points. Jenson Thomas added 15 points as the second option for the Bulldogs. Cuba had two days off before playing Steelville in the consolation bracket.

Jan. 22 vs. Steelville

The Wildcats found themselves in a highly contested matchup against local rival Steelville in the consolation portion of the bracket. The first quarter was a close, low-scoring defensive battle and each team scored seven points. Steelville looked like they were going to pull away in the second frame, and outscored the Wildcats by seven points in the quarter to take a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

Cuba played its best in the third quarter, as the Wildcats poured in 20 points to get back in the game and went into the final frame down by two points.

The final frame was even, as both teams traded baskets and tensions built as the seconds ticked down. The game came down to the final seconds when Steelville senior Nate Gambill went to the free-throw line with 6.2 seconds left, with the Cardinals up one point. Gambill knocked down the first free throw and missed the second, which gave the Wildcats one last chance to tie or take the lead. Without a timeout, Cameron Carnal grabbed the rebound, raced ahead, and dished it to Braden Gipson, who went for a three-pointer and the win. But Gipson’s shot was wide left, and Steelville escaped with a two-point victory.

The Wildcats had four players reach the scoresheet, led by Carnal, who scored a game-high 22 points. Gipson knocked down a pair of treys and finished with 12 points. Ethan Noltkamper scored seven, and Caleb Brown scored two to round out the Wildcat scorers. Jackson Woods netted 18 points to lead Steelville to the consolation finals of the tournament.