With a number of players sidelined due to various injuries, Drew Lansford’s Hermann Bearcat basketball team looked to snap a two-game losing streak last Tuesday night on the road in Ashland against Southern Boone’s Eagles.

Within striking distance at halftime trailing 24-19, Hermann could not match Southern Boone offensively in the second half being outscored 32-8 suffering a 56-27 set back to enter the 2026 portion of their season with a 4-4 record.

“I’m proud of our guys for competing as hard as they can,” Lansford said. “Now that we’re into the holiday break, we can get some guys healthy before we open 2026 at South Callaway.”

Ash led the Bearcats at Southern Boone with 11 of his 13 points in the first half, six rebounds and four assists.

Kruz Eldringhoff just missed joining Ash in double figures with eight points, two steals and an assist.

Tayven Hopkins added four points and four rebounds while Aiden Eikermann rounded out the Bearcat scoring with two points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Falling 43-21 in JV action, Ashton Rucker led Hermann with seven points followed closely with six points from Sawyer Moore.

Gavyn Theissen chipped in four points to go along with two points apiece from Trevin Hale and Roman Martin.

Off for the rest of 2025, Hermann will open the 2026 portion of their season on Friday, Jan. 2 with a short road trip along Highway 94 to Mokane to face South Callaway’s Bulldogs with a 6 p.m., tip time for junior-varsity action.