PHOTO BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Junior Gabe Myles pulls down a rebound during a recent game at Llano. The guard was impressive during the Badgers’ run through the Cameron Yoe tournament. Like most, the Badgers suffered through a holiday hangover.

After winning four consecutive games before Christmas, Lampasas simply could not get back into the swing of things when it traveled to the Cameron Yoe tournament.

The Badgers lost their first two games of tournament play before ending with 1-3 showing.

But the trip was not a complete waste of gas, according to head coach Scott Harrelson.

“[The] purpose of the tournament was to get us back in shape for the hard district run coming up next semester,” the coach said. “I am disappointed with our record, but playing without Brandon Scott [due to illness during] the second day and having role players step up gives me something to feel good about going away from the tournament.”

The Badgers trailed by just two points after the first quarter in the opening game against Hempstead, but were outscored 16-8 in the second period and trailed by 10 points, 30-20 at halftime. The Badgers had nine of their 23 turnovers in the quarter, and the deficit was too large to overcome as Lampasas lost 57-41.

Scott scored a team-high 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but it could not offset Hempstead’s 21-of-36 shooting performance.

Later in the day, the Badgers faced Marlin and the rust remained.

Eduardo Davila tallied 15 points, but turnovers plagued Lampasas once again as they recorded 26 in the 45-38 loss.

Gabe Myles followed up his eight rebound performance against Hempstead by grabbing four more to go with three steals.

The next day, the Badgers broke free from their funk by beating McLennan County 59-52.

Lampasas trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter but cut the lead to 10 points with 1:48 left in the game.

The Badgers’ clutch shooting and strong defensive effort that included five steals in the final minutes forced the teams into overtime.

Lampasas outscored its opponents 9-2 in the extra period to win 59-52.

Davila scored 21 points on nine-of-15 shooting, while Ethan Byers scored a dozen points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Manny Lopez chipped in seven rebounds, and Carlos Cintron finished with five steals, including three late in the game.

In their final game, Lampasas (7- 11) lost some steam and fell to Taylor by 14 points, 65-51.

Davila led the team offensively with 22 points and had five rebounds and three steals.

Myles scored nine points to go with seven rebounds and two steals, while Sean Beatty pulled down four rebounds in limited action.

“Our lack of touching a ball for a week was apparent in the first two games, but we started looking more like ourselves at the end of the tournament,” Harrelson said.