Spangdahlem senior Robert Leggett slams in two of his game-high 26 points in the Sentinels’ Division III semifinal win over five-time defending champion Baumholder in the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Something had to give.
Spangdahlem came into Friday’s Division III boys semifinal game at the DODEA European Basketball Championships with a perfect 17-0 record. Baumholder was trying to get a shot to extend its championship streak to six.
The Sentinels’ Robert Leggett made sure his team came out on top.
The 6-foot-4 senior scored a game-high 26 points and turned back several Bucs’ rallies by driving the baseline for layups, coming up with offensive rebounds and putbacks and turning a few steals into scores.
“We needed every one of them,” coach Mark Jackson said.
The victory sets up a championship matchup with Hohenfels on Saturday at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne. It’ll be the second time the two teams have met this season. The Sentinels won the first 65-59 on Jan. 26.
Baumholder’s Kawther Al’Qurashi tries to get the ball past Spangdahlem’s Makario Drummond in a Division III semifinal game Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder’s Wryson Catalan gets set to shoot from long range in a Division I semifinal Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem’s Cameron Lewis goes up for a shot in the Sentinels’ Division III semifinal victory over Baumholder in the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem 54, Baumholder 43: The Bucs didn’t go down without a fight. Or several mini battles. Neither team led by more than a few points in the opening half, with the Sentinels entering the third period ahead 24-19.
Leggett’s steal and slam dunk with 3 minutes, 34 seconds put Spangdahlem on top 35-25. But the Bucs cut the score to 37-36 on Wryson Catalan’s offensive rebound and score early in the fourth period. Leggett and Cameron Lewis – who finished with 14 points – then scored the next five points to give Spangdahlem some breathing room again.
The Bucs cut the lead to 47-43 with 1:43 left on Kereyel Badillo’s free throw. But Spangdahlem scored the last seven points to end the game.
Jackson said the team definitely feels like it has been carrying a large target for other schools to hit.
“We’ve been getting everyone’s best shot right now,” after finishing the season with a perfect 14-0 record. “I will not lie, it has been a bit of a burden.”
Jackson said the Sentinels must play better than it did for much of the game against Hohenfels earlier this year to win. Spangdahlem rallied for a late victory that day.
“We’re still getting outrebounded,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to work on that, especially with Hohenfels.”
Hohenfels’ Jacob Idowu puts up two of his game-high 33 points to lead the Tigers to a semifinal victory over AFNORTH at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH’s Nathan Goldsmith grabs a rebound despite someone grabbing his arm in a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH’s Jackson Lojka gets off a shot before Hohenfels’ Jacob Idowu can get to him in a Division III semifinal Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at the DODEA European Basketball Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels 75, AFNORTH 52: The Tigers didn’t look like world-beaters for more the half the game against the scrappy Lions.
In fact, AFNORTH led 35-31 early in the third period before Tigers junior Jacob Idowu started to cook and his teammates fed on the warmth.
The 6-3 point center tied the game at 37-37 by connecting on a free throw with 4:12 to play – part of a 24-2 run the Tigers would go on to end the period.
Idowu, who finished with a game-high 33 points, teamed with freshman brother Joel Idowu on two pick-and-roll plays that ended with each brother scoring as part of the run. The play is a tough one for opponents to stop as the brothers seem to tower over most other players on the court.
But Hohenfels coach Michael Weston said he thought it was actually a defensive change that really made the difference.
A 3-2 zone that was so effective in the team routing Baumholder on Thursday just didn’t do much against AFNORTH, Weston said.
“You’ve got to see what works,” he said with a smile on a change to a more aggressive, full-court trapping defense.
But it’s a defense that can be difficult to run for extended periods for the Tigers, who didn’t have a reserve score in the game and tend to play starters long minutes.
Hohenfels last won a basketball title in 2011.
“I was still in high school,” Weston said.