Cuba High School boys basketball team played a trio of games on Jan. 12-13 and 17 against New Haven, St. James and Belle, respectively. The Wildcats lost a double overtime thriller to New Haven before falling decisively to St. James and Belle. Cuba is now 2-13 on the season.  

The Wildcats’ game on Jan. 17 was in collaboration with the Lady Wildcats’ basketball team for Pink Out Night, which raised funds through a silent auction to support a local residents’ battle with cancer. Each game is detailed below. 

The Wildcats returned to St. James on Jan. 19 to compete in the St. James Invitational, which will continue through Jan. 24 at that venue. The Wildcats drew a tough first round matchup against a 13-2 Rolla team that boasts University of Illinois commit Ethan Brown. The rest of Cuba’s matchups and times in the Invitational are dependent on the results against Rolla. No matter the result against Rolla, the Wildcats will play in St. James on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24. All of Cuba’s games in the St. James Invitational will be detailed in next week’s edition. 

The Wildcats will wrap up their January slate on Jan. 27 against Owensville and on Jan. 31 in Steelville for the Cardinals’ own Pink Out Night.

Jan. 12 vs. New Haven

The Wildcats’ game against New Haven was its most thrilling matchup of the season. The first three quarters were close, as neither team was able to pull away. Cuba led 8-7 after the first and took a 23-18 lead into halftime. New Haven was able to close the gap and the Wildcats went into the fourth quarter up 36-34. The drama and energy in Mike Voigt gymnasium built as the final frame went on. New Haven was able to make clutch baskets and position themselves to win.

Cuba got the ball back down by three points with 6.4 seconds remaining. Wildcats’ head coach DJ Dace drew up the perfect play against a defense that knew Cuba needed a three-pointer. Braden Gipson inbounded the ball to Cameron Carnal, who led the Wildcats with 24 points at the time. With the defense keying on Carnal, a screen from Max Keogh cleared space for Gipson beyond the three-point line. Carnal found Gipson, who drained a three-pointer to send the game into overtime and the home crowd into a frenzy.  

It appeared that the Wildcats were going to pull away in overtime. Cuba went up by six, but New Haven’s leading scorer Anthony Groner knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit in half. The Wildcats had the chance to ice the game multiple times but didn’t, and New Haven took advantage.

In the final seconds of overtime with Cuba leading by three, New Haven sophomore Drew Gildehaus hoisted up a three-pointer as time expired, banked in the shot and got fouled. Cuba fans were in disbelief as the sea of green New Haven fans were elated. But with the chance to hit the game-winning free throw, Gildehaus’ attempt rimmed out and the game was headed to double overtime.

The Wildcats looked fatigued in the second overtime and New Haven was riding the high of Gildehaus’ heroics. New Haven scored the first eight points of the period and rode the hot hand of Groner, who scored 12 of his 29 points after regulation. New Haven was able to pull away with a 74-68 win and leave the Wildcats and their fans physically and emotionally drained.

Carnal finished with a season-high 29 points to lead the Wildcats. Gipson scored 20, including the dramatic three-pointer that kept the game going. Felipe Valadez played his best game of the season and scored eight points, and fortified the Wildcats’ thin front line without sterling sophomore Caleb Brown. Noltkamper scored six and AJ Flores netted five on a three-pointer and a layup. Gildehaus finished with 21 points to pair with Groner’s 29 as the sophomore duo shined brighter as the game went on.

Cuba’s junior varsity team defeated New Haven 29-28 in the first game of the evening. Max Keogh scored 10 points and hit the game-winning free throws for the Wildcats.

Jan. 13 vs. St. James

The Wildcats had to quickly move on and played the following night in a tough environment in St. James.

Cuba ran into an energetic St. James Tigers team who was coming off three days rest. The Tigers used their fresh legs to their advantage and led from wire to wire. St. James got out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter and pulled away in the second frame. Cuba was outscored 24-7 in the second quarter and St. James took a 39-12 lead into halftime. The Wildcats played their best quarter in the third frame, scoring 15 points, highlighted by a pair of Gipson three-pointers. But the Tigers’ lead was insurmountable thanks in large part due to a 30-8 rebounding advantage, and St. James cruised to the finish line with a 70-35 victory.

Gipson finished with 10 points and Carnal added nine to lead the Wildcats. Freshman Max Keogh saw extended playing time on varsity for the first time this season and knocked down a pair of three-pointers to score six points and give Wildcat fans a glimpse of his bright future. Noltkamper chipped in five, Flores scored three and Noah Halbert scored two points.

St. James was led by a balanced attack of Tate Gruver, Isaac Smith and Aiden Boone, who scored 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Wildcats had a few days off to physically and mentally recover after the draining back-to-back and hosted a strong Belle team on Pink Out Night.

Jan. 17 vs. Belle

The Wildcats hosted a strong 12-2 Belle Tigers team in the finale of a tripleheader between Wildcats and Tigers on Pink Out Night. 

The matchup was a tale of two halves as Belle got out to an early advantage by using their size to continue to attack Cuba’s front line. Caleb Brown returned for Cuba after missing the last few games due to injury. Brown battled, and took two charges, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Tigers’ balanced attack. Belle got out to a 16-4 lead after the first quarter and took a 35-13 lead into halftime.

The Wildcats didn’t lay down and outscored Belle in the second half. Cuba scored 18 in the third frame to bring some energy into Mike Voight gymnasium and trailed 47-31 heading into the final frame. Belle’s lead was too much to overcome in the fourth and the Tigers walked away with a 61-43 victory and a sweep of the Wildcats in the tripleheader. Cuba’s junior varsity team fell 54-22 in the first game of the afternoon.

The Tigers did most of their damage near the rim and outscored Cuba 38-8 in the paint. Belle was led by Kelhen Struemph, who netted 19 points. Braden Gipson scored a game-high 20 points on an efficient 58 percent shooting from the field while grabbing two rebounds, and making two assists and three steals. Cameron Carnal scored 14 points and had five rebounds and three assists. Brown scored four points and had three rebounds in his return. Seth Adderly drained a three-pointer and Ethan Noltkamper hit a mid-range jumper to finish with two points.