Cuba High School’s boys’ basketball team opened its 2026 slate with a pair of road games on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9 in Sullivan and Hermann, respectively. The Wildcats fell to Sullivan and Hermann and are now 2-10 on the season. Both games are detailed below.

Cuba then played back-to-back games on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 against New Haven and in St. James, which will be detailed next week. The Wildcats will host its annual Pink Out game on Jan. 17 against Belle in collaboration with Cuba’s girl’s basketball team. Cuba’s JV boys’ team will play at 2:30 p.m. and its varsity boys’ team will tip off at 6 p.m. The Lady Cats’ varsity team will play at 4 p.m. and its JV team will play a half-game at 5:30 p.m. Cuba will then compete in the St. James invitational tournament beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 in a matchup with an 11-2 Rolla team. The rest of the tournament’s schedule is dependent on the results of the Rolla game.

Jan. 6 vs. Sullivan

The final score didn’t indicate how close the first two and a half quarters were in the matchup between the Wildcats and the Sullivan Eagles. Both teams exchanged blows in the first half and the score remained close. Sullivan led 11-10 after the first quarter before taking a 22-18 lead at halftime. Junior Ethan Noltkamper drained one of his season-high four three-pointers to begin the third quarter to make it a one-point game. The score remained close until about halfway through the third frame when Sullivan started to pull away. The Eagles made multiple shots from long distance and forced Cuba turnovers that led to points.

Sullivan’s lead grew to 12 in the third before AJ Flores knocked down a trey to cut the lead to nine. Cuba brought it down to an eight-point deficit in the final seconds of the third, but Sullivan hit a three-point heave from well beyond the three-point line that grew the Tigers’ lead to 11. It proved to be the back-breaker for the Wildcats. Cuba didn’t score in the fourth quarter until the last few seconds of the game when freshman Max Keogh hit a three-pointer, and Sullivan came away with a 61-37 victory. 

The Wildcats were dealt a blow when sophomore forward Caleb Brown went down with an apparent knee injury during the first quarter and didn’t return. Cuba struggled on the glass after Brown’s departure and were outrebounded 39-21 on the evening. The Wildcats were led by Noltkamper, who scored a season-high 14 points. Flores scored nine on a trio of trifectas. Cuba’s leading scorer, Braden Gipson, was held to a season-low five points as the Eagles keyed in on making his life difficult. Cameron Carnal scored four points and led Cuba in rebounds and assists with six and three, respectively. Keogh finished with three points to round out the Wildcats’ scoring. The Wildcats then traveled to Hermann on Friday to take on the Bearcats without Brown and fellow big man Felipe Valadez, who was out with an illness.

Jan. 9 vs. Hermann

The Wildcats were without Brown, Valadez, and Layten Eikermann for their matchup against the Hermann Bearcats and their lack of size showed.

The Wildcats kept the game tight with strong pressure defense. Cuba trailed 7-5 after the first quarter and went into halftime down by one, despite their lack of scoring. The offense for both teams picked up in the third frame, as Cuba scored 14 and Hermann scored 16 and the Bearcats took a 27-24 lead heading into the final quarter. But Cuba’s fourth quarter woes continued and the Bearcats size advantage over the shorthanded Wildcats loomed large. Hermann outscored Cuba 13-8 in the final frame to pull away with a 40-32 win over the Wildcats. The Bearcats outrebounded the Wildcats 31-18, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Braden Gipson bounced back from his one off night of the season against Sullivan to lead the Wildcats with 18 points to go with four rebounds and a steal. The rest of the Wildcats struggled to get into an offensive rhythm, as Gipson’s 18 points were more than half of Cuba’s scoring output. Cameron Carnal scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and made a pair of assists and steals. Ethan Noltkamper and AJ Flores each drained a three-pointer as their only baskets. Noltkamper added four assists, four rebounds and two steals and Flores had two assists and two steals. Kohlt Witthaus was the only double-figure scorer for the Bearcats, and scored a game-high 21 points.

Despite the loss, Cuba head coach DJ Dace said that he was happy with his team’s defensive effort while playing without a true big man.

“We played well for how shorthanded we were,” Dace said. “Our defense was really good. Their size is what beat us, but we did a lot of good.”