Cuba High School’s boys’ basketball team lost a pair of games on Jan. 28 against Owensville and on Jan. 31 in Steelville and are now 2-17 on the season. Both games are detailed below.

Cuba then hosted Pacific on Feb. 2 and St. Clair on Jan. 3 for senior night, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Wildcats will host School of the Osage on Feb. 6 for Courtwarming. Cuba’s junior varsity team will play at 5:30 p.m. and Courtwarming ceremonies will take place following their game, before the Wildcats’ varsity team tips off.

Jan. 28 vs. Owensville

The Wildcats’ game versus the Owensville Dutchmen was postponed a day due to the snow and hazardous conditions. Despite school still being out during the day, the two teams drew a solid crowd to see the evening action. The matchup was close throughout the first three-plus quarters, and the final score didn’t reflect the back-and-forth nature of the majority of the game. 

The first quarter was even, as both teams methodically attacked and focused on shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Cuba junior Braden Gipson drained a pair of treys in the first frame and the game was tied at eight at the end of the quarter. The second quarter remained close, but Owensville was able to double its three-point lead with a buzzer-beating, long-range heave from senior Drew Chapman to take a 22-15 lead into halftime. 

Both teams came out of halftime firing on all cylinders. Owensville’s ball movement gave the Dutchmen continuous open looks from deep and at the rim. But the Wildcats showed resilience and seemed to have an answer every time the Dutchmen looked like they were going to pull away. Cuba poured in 20 points in the third frame — five more points than their entire first-half total. Owensville netted 19 in the period and took a 41-35 lead into the final quarter. 

Cuba was able to get within four points early in the fourth quarter, but Owensville’s relentless attack made sure that would be as close as the Wildcats would get. The Dutchmen’s defense honed in on Gipson and sophomore Caleb Brown and Cuba’s offense went quiet. Owensville was able to turn missed shots into quick points on the other end and pulled away with a 60-39 victory.

Gipson admirably attacked the rim and showed three-point shooting touch en route to a game-high 21 points for the Wildcats. Brown added 12 points and did most of his damage at the free throw line, knocking down eight out of 10 attempts from the charity stripe. Cameron Carnal chipped in four and Ethan Noltkamper added two points for Cuba, which continues to crave offensive production beyond its top scorers. Owensville was led by the junior duo of Chase Crosby and Brady Watson, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively.

Cuba’s junior varsity team fell 41-31 in the first matchup of the evening. Layten Eikermann scored eight points, Elijah Jesse added six, and Seth Adderly and Christian DeLuna scored five points apiece for the Wildcats. Kylen Menz netted 12 points to lead the Dutchmen.

Jan. 31 vs. Steelville

Cuba took on Steelville in the fourth and final matchup of the afternoon between the Wildcats and the Cardinals.

Steelville got out to an early lead, thanks to marksmen shooting from senior Jackson Woods, who buried four three-pointers in the first quarter to lead the Cardinals to a 18-6 advantage. The Wildcats began the second quarter on a 7-3 run to narrow the gap to eight. The rest of the period was close and Cuba went into halftime trailing by nine.

The Wildcats hung around in the third quarter, but were plagued by turnovers that prevented them from closing the gap and went into the final frame down 37-25. Steelville’s pressure defense and timely scoring overwhelmed Cuba in the final frame and the Cardinals pulled away. Cuba head coach DJ Dace emptied his bench with three minutes remaining and Steelville up by 20, and the Cardinals pulled away with a 60-33 victory.

Gipson netted 11 points to lead the Wildcats. Freshman Max Keogh scored seven points, including a tough and-one finish at the rim through contact. Caleb Brown added five points and emphatically blocked a shot in the second quarter that drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Noltkamper chipped in four and Carnal and Seth Adderly each scored three points for the Wildcats. Woods finished with 17 points and Nate Gambill added 15 to lead the Cardinals.

Cuba’s junior varsity team fell 55-15 in the first matchup of the afternoon. DeLuna led the Wildcats with five points.