PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Senior Jordy Carnes (center) wrestles for a loose ball during Lampasas' opening-round loss to Hearne at the Cameron Yoe Tournament Monday. Like most of us, the Badgers returned to work after the Christmas break a little off their game.

Despite being a step slower, and perhaps a pound or two heavier thanks to some holiday home cooking, Lampasas was back into the swing of things by the time the Cameron Chamber Christmas Classic Basketball Tournament wrapped up Tuesday.

The Badgers dropped their first pair of games in the two-day tourney before making it to the consolation championship game, where they fell by four points to Brenham,

"Taking [six] days off with my guys is not good, and that's basically what it came down to," head coach Scott Harrelson said.

Lampasas certainly did not look rusty in the opening quarter of the tournament when it built a 23-9 lead against 16th-ranked 2A Hearne, but fatigue set in after the first eight minutes, and the Eagles pulled to within six points by halftime.

Guard Heath Hopson (4) goes to the rim against Hearne. Hopson finished the game with 29 points, 10 rebounds, nine steals and five blocks. After intermission, the Badgers were outscored 26-17 and lost by three points, 56-53.

"We jumped out on them, and then we started to shoot ourselves in the foot and ran out of gas," Harrelson said. "Ultimately, at the end of the game, we had three or four chances to win the game, and we didn't. We didn't finish."

Heath Hopson led the way for Lampasas, scoring a game-high 29 points to go with 10 rebounds, nine steals and five blocks.

But even the 6-4 guard looked out of sync at times, especially in the second round against Bellville.

At the free-throw line, Hopson accounted for eight of the Badgers' 17 missed free throws, including five misses in the fourth quarter, as the Brahmas pulled out a 67-63 victory.

Even with the miscues, Hopson had an outstanding game, posting 26 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals, eight blocks and three assists.

The Badgers led by six points after the first half and controlled the contest through three quarters, but Bellville exploded for 28 points in the final eight minutes.

Eduardo Davila slices his way through a sea of Eagle defenders Monday. Losing Hopson to fouls with three minutes remaining in the game certainly did not help the situation. Shortly after Hopson fouled out, fellow starter Warren Scott was whistled for his final foul.

On Tuesday, Lampasas returned to the court for another doubleheader of action, starting off against McLennan County.

With Hopson resting for a large portion of the game in hopes of being fresh for the tournament's final round, Harrelson received offensive contributions from almost everyone in uniform as the Badgers cruised to a 68-47 victory.

Senior Scott scored 12 points, and Jordy Carnes finished with 10. Reserve guard Jonathan VanLiew helped fill the stat sheet with six assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Hopson grabbed 18 rebounds in limited action.

"Our defense was excellent," Harrelson said. "We started to look like the team we were [before the break]."

Starter Warren Scott prepares to release a shot as a defender guards him closely during the Cameron Yoe Tournament. Prior to the holiday, the Badgers were on a three-game winning streak and won their last two contests by a combined 90 points.

The win sent Lampasas to the consolation championship game, where it faced off against a talented Brenham squad.

Again, the Badgers had opportunities in the game's waning moments to grab a victory but could not capitalize and fell 46-42.

"We had the ball in the middle of the key, down by two, and we got a three-second call," Harrelson said. "Then we didn't box out on one free throw, and they got an offensive rebound and that basically cost us the game.

"[Overall] I thought our boys played well."

Unfortunately, because the Badgers failed to make it to the winners' side of the bracket, Hopson was not named to the alltournament team.

But that did not mean the senior went unnoticed.

"Everybody was talking about him, and everybody was impressed with him," Harrelson said. "He was all over the place, and he played with a lot of heart and passion."

Lampasas (7-13) will look to return to its winning ways tonight when it hosts Dripping Springs at 7 p.m. inside Bozarth-Fowler Gymnasium.