After nine straight losses, the Cuba High School boys’ basketball team got back in the win column with a Feb. 2 victory over Pacific.

Cuba lost on the following night on Feb. 3 against St. Clair and honored seniors Cameron Carnal, Noah Halbert, Gavin Robinson, Felipe Valadez and Ryan Thompson before the game. The Wildcats had two days off after the back-to-back games and hosted School of the Osage on Courtwarming night. Wildcat senior Cameron Carnal was named courtwarming king and Lady Wildcat cross country runner Cadynce Basham was named the courtwarming queen. The Wildcats fell to School of the Osage following the ceremony. All of Cuba’s games from this past week are detailed below.

Cuba is now 3-19 on the season with three games remaining in the regular season. The Wildcats will have 10 days off before they play in Union on Feb. 16. Cuba will then host Bourbon on Feb. 19 before finishing its regular season on Feb. 20 against Fatima in Westphalia. The Wildcats will host districts in the first week in March, but are still awaiting seeding and matchups.

Cuba’s junior varsity team will compete in the Bourbon JV Tournament beginning on Feb. 11. The Wildcats are seeded seventh and will take on second-seeded Vienna at 5:15 p.m. in the first round of the tournament. Cuba will play again in the tournament on Feb. 14, but its game time and opponent are dependent on the results against Vienna.

Feb. 2 vs. Pacific

The Wildcats returned to Mike Voight Gymnasium on Feb. 2 after falling in Steelville two days before. Cuba played a solid Pacific team in a game that was close throughout, where neither team led by more than six points.

Cuba trailed 12-11 after the first quarter before locking up on defense in the second period. The Wildcats gave up just six second-quarter points and were able to turn a one-point deficit to a six-point lead heading into halftime. Pacific fought back in the third frame and took a 32-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter was must-watch cinema, as both teams traded leads with the clock winding down. The game reached its climax with less than two minutes remaining.

Cuba trailed 46-45 when sophomore Caleb Brown caught a pass from Braden Gipson in the post, gave his defender a nifty drop-step move, and laid the ball in to give the Wildcats a 47-46 lead with 1:20 remaining. Cuba followed the clutch basket with a stop on the defensive end, and regained possession with less than a minute left. Pacific tried to force a turnover, but Cuba senior Cameron Carnal was able to take advantage of an aggressive defender by attacking the rim and finishing a dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and gave the Wildcats a three point lead.

With 30 seconds left, Pacific missed a three-point attempt that would’ve tied the game and Cuba junior Ethan Noltkamper snagged the rebound and raced up court. Noltkamper was eventually fouled and knocked down a clutch free throw that gave Cuba a four-point lead, making it a two-possession game and essentially sealing the win for the Wildcats. Cuba walked away with a 50-46 victory for its third win of the season.

Gipson scored a game-high 21 points for the black and gold, and hit a trio of his four three-point makes in the fourth quarter. Carnal drained a pair of treys and finished with 11 points. Noltkamper scored four of his eight points in the final frame, including his exclamation point free throw and swiped three steals. Brown added four and Seth Adderly, AJ Flores and Felipe Valadez each chipped in two points for the Wildcats. Pacific had three players score in double figures, led by sophomore Spencer Bukowsky, who netted 14 points.

Cuba head coach DJ Dace spoke the following day about how his team was able to come away with the victory.

“We played with a lot of confidence. We talked about playing our game and not feeling out the other team, and we went right at them,” Dace said. “We took really good care of the ball and didn’t rush many shots. We ran our motion offense until we got a good look. Defensively, that might’ve been the most active our hands have been and the most vocal we’ve been all season.”

The Wildcats returned to the court the following night for a tough matchup on senior night against the 11-7 St. Clair Bulldogs. 

Feb. 3 vs. St. Clair

Emotions were high in Mike Voight gymnasium as Cuba’s seniors were honored before the game.

The Wildcats went toe-to-toe with a strong St. Clair Bulldog team in a game that was within 10 points throughout. Cuba trailed 11-9 after the first quarter before both teams found their offensive grooves in the second period. The Bulldogs poured in 26 points in the frame and the Wildcats responded with a productive 19-point quarter.

Gipson buried four three-pointers and scored 15 points in the second quarter alone to keep the Wildcats in the game. St. Clair led 37-28 going into halftime and the Wildcats were able to trim the nine-point deficit in the third period. Cuba gave up just nine points in the third frame and trailed 46-40 going into the final frame.

The Wildcats looked to have momentum in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 50 with 3:50 left after Noltkamper stole the ball and finished a layup at the other end. But St. Clair responded with a long possession that ended up with a crushing three-pointer on a shot that bounced around the rim a few times before it fell through.

The Wildcats had multiple chances to tie the game with a three-pointer, but couldn’t convert on their attempts. St. Clair was able to extend the lead and make it a two-possession game with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left. Gipson finished a layup with 3.9 seconds left that made it a 55-52 game, but Cuba couldn’t get a steal on the other end and the Bulldogs sealed the game with a pair of free throws to come away with a 57-52 win.

Cuba shot a higher percentage than St. Clair from the field, at the free throw line and beyond the three-point line, but were outrebounded 34-18. The Wildcats had three players score in double figures, led by Gipson, who finished with a team-high 19 points. Carnal played well on his senior night and scored 16 points on a pair of three-pointers, a trio of baskets near the rim and four free throws. Brown knocked down a pair of treys and finished with 10 points and two blocked shots. Noltkamper added four points and three steals, Flores scored two and Felipe Valadez scored one. Kason Conway and Gaege McCuskey each scored 19 to lead the Bulldogs.

Feb. 6 vs. School of the Osage 

The Wildcats looked like they fed off the energy of the homecoming crowd, and played their best ball of the night in the first frame. 

Cuba put up a strong 20 point frame and led 20-17 going into the second quarter. But the School of the Osage Indians responded with a 16-4 advantage in the period, and turned a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead heading into halftime. The Wildcats had a hard time containing the Indians in the final two frames, as the School of the Osage were propelled by a 45-23 overall rebounding advantage, and scored 23 points in each of the final two quarters. The Indians grew its lead to 16 at the end of the third quarter before eventually pulling away with a 79-50 victory over the Wildcats.

School of the Osage clearly scouted Cuba’s leading scorer, Gipson, and held him to six field goals on 20 attempts. Gipson still finished with a team-high 14 points while grabbing three rebounds and swiping one steal. Carnal, the Courtwarming king, registered 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Brown scored 10 on a stellar five-for-eight shooting from the field and added three rebounds, two steals and a block to his stat line. Noltkamper scored nine and Flores and Valdez scored two points apiece for Cuba.