Bulldogs Advance in St. James Tourney with Blowout Win Over Cuba
- RoMoAthletics
- Jan 20
- 4 min read
January 20th, 2026
It was a classic David vs Goliath match-up in the opening round of the 81st Annual St. James Tournament as the 5th ranked team in Class 6, the Rolla Bulldogs, who entered the game 13-2 against the 2-12 Class 3 Cuba Wildcats. With Cuba drawing first blood to take the early 2-0 lead, Rolla responded with the next 18 points on their way to a 67-27
With winter chilling the air outside, the Bulldogs warmed up Donati Gymnasium going 5 for 5 from inside the arc in the first quarter and shooting 75% from 2 for the game. The only reminder of winter for the 14-2 Bulldogs was their 3-point shooting as they only shot 22.7% for the game.
The Bulldogs were led once again by 6’4” Sr guard Ethan Brown, who recorded a double-double in limited play scoring 20 points and dishing out 10 assists. While Brown could get to the rim with ease going 8-9 from 2, the 40% 3-point shooter went 1-6 from long range on the night.
As a team, the Bulldogs went 5-22 from behind the arc with 2 of those 3’s coming from the bench as 6’0” Jr guard James Scheck and 5’9” Fr guard Dante Robinson knocked down both of their attempts in the 4th quarter.
Maintaining Focus
It’s always tough to keep a team focused coming off a blow-out senior night win over Camdenton on Friday, 67-34, and then entering a game against a 2-12 team which on paper is not a good match-up.
Taking a 33-12 lead into halftime and firmly in control, the Bulldogs could have lost focus and taken a care-free attitude for the rest of the game. But not this loaded senior team.
The Bulldogs defense stayed active recording 9 deflections and 6 steals in the quarter. In a slow paced first half where the Bulldogs only managed 2 transition points and 4 points off turnovers, the 3rd quarter unleashed a blizzard. The Bulldogs pressure led to 14 transition points and 12 points off turnovers, including another highlight when 6’2” Sr guard Jenson Thomas once again threw the alleyoop lob to Brown.
The Long Ball
Shooting the 3 ball has been a hallmark of Bulldog basketball under Coach Miller. This year’s team is shooting 35% from 3 for the season with 6 players shooting over 30%. However, including last night's game, the Bulldogs are only shooting 25% from 3 at St. James High School this season.
If the Bulldogs are to achieve their goal of a 3rd straight St. James Tournament Championship, the 3-point shooting will need to improve in the next two games.
The Wrap Up
The dominant win enabled Coach Miller to get the JV team some valuable minutes. Overall, 15 players got minutes and went on to outscore Cuba 12 to 5 in the final quarter. “It’s always good to have those games where the scoring differential is like that. It allows some guys to gain more varsity experience that they might not get otherwise.”
Back-to-back turbo clocks worked out well for the Bulldog fans who were wanting to get home to watch the College Football Championship Game but can add challenges of its own for a high school coach and Coach Miller knows that the goal is to get better every day. “But big wins don’t mean there’s nothing to do in practice. We’ve got a lot of detailed work that we need to improve on, and a film session will help us see and talk through some effort, execution and physicality. The guys really like to practice so they’ll be ready for the preparation for our next game.”
Next Up - St. James Tournament
Bulldogs (14-2) take on host team, St. James Tigers (8-5) in semifinal action of the St. James Tournament on Thursday January 22nd at 8pm
Last meeting was a 59-47 victory
Bulldogs led in every statistical category except for rebounds
Out rebounded by the smaller Tigers team including giving up 13 offensive rebounds
Deep Ball woes: Rolla shot 27% from 3, while the Tigers only shot 18%
First Round Tourney Results - Monday the 19th
#1 Blair Oaks - Bye
Second Round Tourney Match-Ups - Thursday the 22nd
Cuba vs Steelville at 5:00pm
Blair Oaks vs Salem at 6:30pm
Rolla vs St. James at 8:00pm
Final Tourney Match-Ups - Saturday the 24th
Consolation at 1:30pm
3rd Place at 4:30pm
Championship at 7:30pm
STATS Rolla 67, Camdenton 34
The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):
Rolla (14-2): Thomas 7-0-15, Richter 1-2-4, Gideon 3-0-7, Robinson 1-0-3, Scheck 2-0-5, Ledbetter 3-0-6, Brown 9-1-20, Smith 2-0-4, Robinson 1-1-3
Cuba (2-13): Carnal 3-2-10, Gipson 5-0-13, Flores 1-0-2, Eikermann 1-0-2
The score by periods:
TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Rolla 16 17 22 12 67
Cuba 2 10 10 5 27
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