After a rough third quarter that saw his team’s deficit grow to double digits, Wright City’s Cameron Cole knocked down a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point game early in the fourth.

Hermann responded with a layup and called a quick timeout.

“We got within striking distance, but I knew it would be tough because they’re so good at handling the ball,” Wright City Head Coach Ken Brown said after his team’s 70-46 loss Monday night. “And I knew that us pressuring them more would probably lead them to score easily.” 

Hermann ended the game on a 23-7 run over the final six minutes, dropping Wright City’s record to 2-6 heading into Tuesday’s game at Elsberry.

“We tried to pressure and it didn’t work and they extended the lead,” Brown said. “We were tired and didn’t do a good job of rotating on defense.”

After going down 17-9 in the first quarter, Wright City found success in transition to cut the Hermann lead to 29-23 at halftime.

The third quarter was all Hermann, however.

“Their physicality just wore on us in the second half,” Brown said. “They have a lot of football players playing for them, and you can tell that by watching them. We have to do a better job of getting in front of guys and being more physical than our opponent.”

The Bearcats scored on their first three possessions of the second half while the Wright City offense struggled to find consistent scoring.

Devon Holmes led the team with seven third-quarter points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it a 45-34 game heading into the fourth.

Wright City’s inability to control the defensive glass aided Hermann’s run.

“We definitely got out-rebounded tonight,” Brown said. “Those guys for Hermann are really physical, and we just couldn’t match up with them physically up front. I think our kids played hard and we had a chance to tie the game when we were down six in the first half. It was just that third quarter that hurt us. They were more physical than us in the third quarter and we were worn down in the fourth.”

Cameron Cole led Wright City with 15 points, which included seven in the fourth quarter as Wright City staged a comeback.

“He’s more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him,” Brown said. “He hasn’t been 100 percent since twisting his ankle in the jamboree. I think this was the first time in the last few weeks that he was as healthy as he is going to get, and he was really aggressive. When Cameron is aggressive, that gets our whole team going. I look forward to him being more aggressive and to us playing better as a team.”

Hermann remained undefeated with the win.

“I don’t think the final score indicates how well we played,” Brown said. “I think we played well for playing a team that is undefeated and who has beaten some good teams. I think we’ll be fine and it will come around for us, we just have to be consistent offensively. We’re looking forward to better things coming soon.”

The Wildcats will enjoy a three-week break before returning for the Clopton Tournament Jan. 2.

Brown hopes his team can focus on the positives from Monday night heading into the break.

“I’m really happy with my team because I thought we ran our offense better than we have all year. We played hard, but we have to get better,” he said. “We’ll get there because I’m really confident in my team. I think we’re about to turn a corner.”