Hohenfels’ Jacob Idowu goes for a layup following an offensive rebound against the Sigonella Jaguars on Saturday. Idowu scored 47 points over two games, leading his team in scoring for the weekend. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
RAF ALCONBURY, England – DODEA-Europe’s smallest schools have some of the longest distances between them.
So it isn’t often that the Sigonella Jaguars, Hohenfels Tigers and Alconbury Dragons get to play each other – especially early on in a basketball season.
“It’s exciting to see where people are at the start of the season and see how all the teams perform early on,” Alconbury athletic director Nicole Andre said Saturday after watching some of the action.
With a third of the Division III field in one location, the participating six squads got a chance to see how much work they’ll need to do if they want a strong finish to the season at the championships in Germany in two months.
The Hohenfels boys and Sigonella girls would have received the highest marks if their games were tests in the classroom.
The Tiger boys improved to 4-0 on the season after a 68-50 victory over the hosts on Friday and a 66-39 triumph over the Sicily based Jaguars on Saturday. Sigonella’s girls earned 38-34 and 50-20 wins over Hohenfels and Alconbury respectively Saturday.
Sigonella’s Ryleigh Denton drives for two points after stealing the ball against the Alconbury Dragons on Saturday. Denton scored 27 points over two games as the Jaguars defeated by Alconbury and Hohenfels. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels led Sigonella 37-22 at halftime Saturday in a boys matchup. The first half was a series of momentum shifts, seeing both teams try to squelch any momentum from the opposing team and keep the game close.
However, in the second half the Tigers came out in full force, seemingly reenergized. The Tigers’ Idowu brothers, Jacob and Joel, were too strong for the Jaguars inside. Jacob Idowu had 25 points to lead the team a night after scoring 22 against the Dragons.
Sigonella, coming off a close victory over the Tigers in an earlier game, then took on the hosts in the final girls game of the event. The Jaguars used speed and a pressure defense to continually harass Alconbury and steadily pull away. Ryleigh Denton had 18 points and Charlize Caro and Laney Reardon 11 each for Sigonella. Reardon had scored 16 in the team’s first game and grabbed 26 rebounds over the two contests.
Sigonella’s boys, looking to break a two-game losing streak, kept the game close through halftime with the hosts in the final game of the day. But then Alconbury had twice as many points (28-13) in the second half. Alfonso Sanchez led the way with aggressive play on defense and by directing the offense for the Dragons. Vincent Sheehan and Bohdan Andrew each finished with 11 points. Sheehan had led the way Friday with a team-high 17 in the loss to the Tigers.
All six teams now get several weeks off during DODEA’s winter break. Sigonella and Hohenfels will see each other again in late January when the two visit Spangdahlem for another small school showdown event.
Alconbury’s Julian Brazoban drives to the basket against the Sigonella Jaguars on Saturday. The Dragons hosted Sigonella and Hohenfels for Friday and Saturday games on the second weekend of the DODEA-Europe basketball season. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)