RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The Ramstein boys basketball team learned not to overlook even the slightest detail in losing in last year’s championship.

That means crashing the boards, jumping passing lanes and harassing ballhandlers on defense without getting into foul trouble and then hitting the freebies from the charity stripe, among other things.

Most of those were on display during Ramstein’s 67-30 dismantling of SHAPE on Friday evening in both teams’ season opener.

The Royals (1-0) amassed 27 offensive boards, highlighted by a possession early in the second quarter when senior forward Michael Gonzales grabbed three before finally scoring.

Defensively, Ramstein snatched 23 steals, with senior Ky’Ron Hall recording a game-high eight, and forced the Spartans (0-1) into 34 turnovers.

The only downside was the home team’s performance at the free-throw line, where it went 11 of 18. It harkened back to the Division I European title-game in which the Royals shot 60.9%.

“This year, we realize every little thing is important, so we’re going to do as many little things as we can to get the dub,” Hall said. “We’re going for perfection. So, until we’re perfect, I’m not satisfied.”

This Ramstein team has high expectations, with 10 veterans making up the squad. Of those 10, seven are seniors.

And every single one of those veterans got onto the floor before the game got out of hand, which is by design, according to assistant coach Neil Malone.

“We’re utilizing pretty much everybody we have on the squad,” Malone said. “They all bring something to the team. I’m excited to see how that shakes out as the season goes on.”

Nine Royals scored and only two reached double figures in junior Aarius Guishard, who dropped 10 of his team-high 13 points in the second half, and newcomer Awwab Noble, who tallied 10 of his 12 points in the opening 16 minutes.

As much as the head coach Brendan Rouse and the others on the bench appreciated it, Malone mentioned the staff would like to see more ruthlessness from the players.

Hall, meanwhile, explained what drives the scoring spread.

“We’re brothers, so we all want to see each other eat,” Hall said. “I want to see my man eat; he wants to see me eat. So, we all unselfishly make that extra pass and can that ball moving.”

SHAPE coach Brant Tryon said his inexperienced squad was told what to expect from the Royals and yet were out of their depth right from the start, never leading and trailing after Noble drove to the bucket 6 minutes, 27 seconds into the game to make it 4-2.

Senior Matteo Sanciu paced the Spartans with a game-high 14 points, while fellow senior Keller Schutt chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.

“That’s what we’re disappointed about. Not the loss – it’s that we didn’t execute in the way that we should have, the way we talked about and the way we trained for this game,” Tryon said.

After two years of falling in the title game, Hall said the Royals are looking to get back atop Division I. And while they showed some of their potential, they still have room for improvement.

“There’s nobody here that can hang with us, so the sky’s the limit,” Hall said. “We just got to keep going and stay locked in at practice.”

Girls

Ramstein 34, SHAPE 16: A young Royals team found itself in a rough spot at the 2:41 mark in the third quarter against SHAPE on Friday.

Ramstein hadn’t trailed, but despite holding the Spartans to no points for more than a quarter, a Chiara D’Arrigo banked three-pointer tied the game.

The home side showed some composure when on the next possession, Aaryanna Guishard connected with Grayen Canady for an answering three-pointer. From that point, it was all Royals.

Over the final 10:30, Ramstein (1-0) outscored SHAPE (0-1) 19-1.

“I think we definitely had first-game jitters,” said co-captain Parker Ingram, one of two seniors on the roster with Canady. “We were nervous at first coming out. But during the fourth quarter, they were like, ‘OK, we can relax,’ and we were able to play our game.”

Shooting was the main reason the Royals couldn’t push out the lead in the middle of the game.

Ramstein went 14-of-52 from the field overall, but the team managed to hit eight shots after briefly being tied at 15-15.

On four consecutive possessions midway through the final frame, the Royals managed to get points, starting with an Ella Field runner, a Field pass to Breanna Olivas, a Feliciana Davis reverse and Olivas draining a three-pointer off a pass from Field.

“I was completely confident that they would (fall) at some point, and I was happy that they were able to stay composed,” Ramstein coach Christina Hewitt said. “But I didn’t want any shot – I wanted the right shot and to work the ball to get that good open shot.

“Finally, that was happening.”

While not being concerned about the shooting performance, Hewitt said the defensive effort wasn’t up to standard.

Sure, Ramstein forced SHAPE into 39 turnovers, but the home team also sent the Spartans to the free-throw line too many times for the coach, especially early in the game. SHAPE had 10 attempts from the charity stripe in the opening period, making five of them.

The visitors finished 7-of-14 at the line.

“I liked our intensity for sure, but we picked up way too many fouls,” Hewitt said. “We needed to play defense more with our feet and not our hands.”

For first-year SHAPE coach Bob Penry, Friday’s performance was a good surprise. He said he expected the starters, who hardly stepped off the floor, to be exhausted by the second quarter, and yet he didn’t see them lose intensity until the second half.

Olivia Penry paced the Spartans with eight points.

“I told the girls they exceeded our expectations for our first game out, especially playing a big school like Ramstein,” Penry said. “It’s a good look in the window to see where we’re at. We’re much further along than expected.”

K-town Sports

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