CUBA – Cuba High School’s boys basketball team competed in the 12th Annual FCNB Bank-It Championship Tournament beginning on Dec. 2 with a match up against Salem at Sullivan High School. The Tournament was postponed a day due to snow in the area. The Wildcats fell to Salem on Dec. 2, St. Louis Patriots on Dec. 3 and Sullivan on Dec. 5 to take eighth place in the tournament. 

Despite the losses, one Wildcat was recognized for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament. Junior Braden Gipson was named to the FCNB All-Tournament team after averaging 18.3 points during the tournament. Gipson made multiple three-pointers and picked up multiple steals in each of the three games.

The Wildcats (0-5) then played their home opener on Dec. 8 against Licking, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Wildcats will then travel to Herculaneum on Dec. 11 to take on the Blackcats. Cuba will compete in the 64th Annual Legends Bank Classic Tournament in Linn beginning on Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. against Fatima.

Dec. 2 vs. Salem

The Wildcats trailed early against Salem, but battled back to make it a close tough game throughout the evening. But Cuba missed multiple shots in the waning seconds of the game after a furious comeback, and fell 54-51 to the Tigers.

Cuba was led by the steady presence of Gipson, who drained a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter to make it a 13-12 Salem lead heading into the second quarter. Gipson scored 10 of Cuba’s 22 first-half points and the Wildcats went into halftime down 27-22.

Cuba was steadied in the third quarter by Ethan Noltkamper, who scored all of his eight points in the frame on two three-pointers and on a floater in the lane. The Wildcats were undersized against a taller Salem squad, which out-rebounded Cuba 28-15 throughout the evening.  

But Cuba didn’t back down and went into the fourth quarter trailing 41-36. Salem then ballooned its lead to 11 before a timely timeout from Cuba head coach DJ Dace refocused his team. The Wildcats used pressure defense throughout the fourth to dwindle their deficit down as the quarter went on.

Gipson hit a tough shot in the paint over Salem’s post players to make it a two-point game with 2:48 left to play. Caleb Brown, who was Cuba’s best post player throughout the evening, hit a nifty turnaround shot in the paint to tie the game at 51 with 1:45 left. After Salem hit a pair of free throws to make it a 53-51 Tigers lead, Cuba had multiple chances to tie or take the lead. Gipson had a good look on a three-point attempt with 14 seconds left that rattled out and would’ve given the Wildcats the lead. Cuba then had one last chance to tie the game with 4 seconds left after Salem missed a free throw that would’ve sealed it. But Cameron Carnal’s last second heave fell short, and the Wildcats lost by three.

Gipson finished with a team-high 20 points on four three-pointers and four two-point field goals. Brown scored 12, grabbed six rebounds, blocked two shots and seemed to get stronger defensively as the game went on. Noltkamper scored eight and picked up three steals, Carnal scored seven and AJ Flores added two. Freshman Max Keogh scored his first varsity basket on a back-cut that led to a layup. Seth Adderly didn’t score but played with relentless energy on the defensive end, leading to two steals and three deflections in 13 minutes of action. 

Dec. 3 vs. St. Louis Patriots

Because the tournament was pushed back a day, the Wildcats had a quick turnaround and played the next evening against a much taller St. Louis Patriot team that lost to St. James in the first round of the tournament. 

The Wildcats, whose tallest players Zane Brown and Caleb Brown stand at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3, respectively, faced off against the Patriots on Nov. 4 who boast 6-foot-9 center Dominic Keys, 6-foot-5 forwards Peter Clayton and 6-foot-4 Connor Parker. But Cuba didn’t back down and went toe-to-toe with the taller Patriots throughout the evening despite being out-rebounded 31-18. The Wildcats helped make up for the rebounding difference by forcing 13 Patriots turnovers.  

Cuba trailed 17-15 after the first quarter and 33-31 at halftime. But the second half was a different story and the Patriots went to a zone defense and used their length to stifle the Wildcats. Cuba was held to 22 second half points, and eventually fell 62-53 to the Patriots.

 The Wildcats were led by Carnal, who played his best game so far this season, as he poured in 25 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists and picked up two steals. Gipson continued his strong season and dropped 16 points on three shots from distance, three two-point buckets and a free throw. Gipson led the Wildcats in steals and assists with four apiece. Brown added seven points and shot a strong five-for-six from the free throw line. Noltkamper scored all five of his points in the first quarter on a three-pointer and a two-point basket and added another three steals.  

Despite the fourth loss in a row to start the season, the Wildcats have been in contention in three of those games, leaving Dace feeling optimistic his team can still improve and have a strong season.

“We did some things well,” Dace said. “It’s just us not being consistent. We still have a lot to learn.”

Dec. 5 vs. Sullivan

The Wildcats then capped off their time in the FCNB Tournament by playing in the seventh-place consolation game on Nov. 5 against Sullivan. The Wildcats played well early in the game and were leading 13-11 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. But Sullivan knocked down two shots from distance to take a 17-13 lead after the first quarter. 

The Eagles then went on a 10-0 run to start the second quarter before Brown scored back-to-back buckets to make it a 23-17 game. Sullivan then got hot from the three-point line and ballooned its lead to 15 at halftime, making it a 41-26 game. 

Sullivan kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter and the Eagles took a 53-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were down by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter, but didn’t just lay down. Cuba used pressure defense and timely three-pointers to outscore the Eagles 20-12 in the fourth quarter.

Despite playing well in the fourth, the margin was too large to overcome and the Wildcats fell 65-57 to take eighth place in the tournament. The Wildcats couldn’t contain Sullivan senior Peyton Malady who poured in 18 points in each half to finish with a Tournament-High 36 points.

Gipson, who was named to the All-Tournament team, continued his strong start to the season and led Cuba with 19 points. Brown scored a season-high 13 points and Carnal added 12 as the trio has established themselves as the Wildcats’ leading scorers. Noltkamper and Flores scored five points apiece, Adderly drained his first three-pointer of the season to finish with three and Felipe Valadez scored two on his first bucket of the season.