BAUMHOLDER, Germany – The Baumholder boys basketball team has extra motivation this season.

The Buccaneers’ DODEA-Europe championship streak ended at five last winter with a third-place finish. Five players from the 2023-2024 squad are back, and coach DeWayne Pigge can see the drive in those veterans.

“It was humbling last year when we lost, and now we have that hunger to want to get a championship,” Pigge said.

Three games in, things are looking good.

Friday, the Buccaneers ran the team that dethroned them, Spangdahlem, off the court in the second half, invoking the mercy rule with 4 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the game to win 67-28.

Two veterans paced Baumholder (3-0, 3-0) offensively. Senior Leo Kirkland amassed 31 points – hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter and dropping 12 points in the third frame. Junior Gregory Makubuya added 16 points – all in the first and third quarters – and eight rebounds.

Sophomore Artez Williams chipped in with 12 points and nine boards.

“I’m trying to go out with a bang,” Kirkland said. “It’s been pretty good for us. So far, we haven’t had no issues, great chemistry. I like what we’ve got going on.”

The one issue the squad does have is a lack of height, and it showed with Sentinel Zander Doulder towering above every Buccaneer.

Baumholder has a plan to overcome that height disadvantage and deployed it relentlessly against Spangdahlem (0-3, 0-2). Put simply, just don’t let the ball get into the paint.

The Buccaneers’ patented full-court pressure defense didn’t give the Sentinels a chance to breathe. Spangdahlem committed 41 turnovers, with 24 of them coming on steals. Makubuya had six, while Kirland and Williams each had five.

Baumholder turned those steals into 26 fastbreak points, a total that didn’t include a few putback buckets off misses and a few from the charity stripe after players were fouled going for layups.

The hosts really turned up the pressure in the third quarter. Coming out of the break by 10, the Buccaneers outscored the Sentinels 29-2 in the third frame. Twelve of those 29 were on the fast break.

“I love it, absolutely love it,” Pigge said of the second-half explosion. “As I always say to the kids, pressure busts pipes, and pressure causes turnovers. If we continue to apply pressure, it will make a world of a difference in your game over height.”

Spangdahlem coach Mark Jackson anticipated growing pains this season, with just one player returning from last year’s title-winning squad.

He said he felt like his team made strides during a 47-37 loss to AFNORTH on Dec. 7, but despite warning his players about Baumholder’s style of play, the players took a step backward, especially in the third when only an Aiden Bishop at the 7:04 mark kept the Sentinels from getting blanked.

Sophomore Caleb Jackson led Spangdahlem with 12 points and nine boards.

“I feel like this team will be a lot better by the time we get to Euros, but we’re going to have our bumps,” Jackson said. “It’s a learning experience. Hopefully, they take this learning experience and grow from it.”

Girls

Spangdahlem needed a boost after getting swept on opening weekend, and that’s what it got when it traveled to Baumholder.

The Sentinels led from start to finish, beating the Buccaneers 55-16. Spangdahlem (1-2, 1-1) invoked the mercy rule with 44.5 seconds remaining in the third period.

“After our two losses, it was very discouraging, but seeing this has uplifted our team,” junior Aniya Robinson said.

The victory was more than a confidence booster for the visitors. It also was a gift for Caleya Morton, who celebrated her birthday Friday.

The senior totaled a game-high 20 points. She amassed 15 steals to seal a double-double and grabbed six offensive boards.

“I came in hoping to get a really high score,” Morton said. “It was really nice to end on a win.”

Morton wasn’t the only one getting in on the steal parade.

Robinson produced 14 thefts herself, and she contributed a double-double with 11 points.

Overall, the Sentinels forced the Buccaneers (0-3, 0-3) into 55 turnovers.

“Defense is where you start in a game,” Robinson said. “Without a defense, there’s no point in scoring. Defense is very fundamental for a team. It’ll take our team a long way.”

Despite the early season struggles, new Baumholder coach Chris Schoonover said the team has improved immensely from the first day of practice. Of the seven on the roster, only two had any basketball-playing experience.

On Friday, Vahna Talikschwil and Leai Vaisagote each had four points for the Buccaneers.

“Maybe this is the optimist in me, but I really like a lot of the things we do,” Schoonover said. “A lot of it is just shooting ourselves in the foot. The turnovers, the traveling, the dribbling errors, we know how to fix that stuff.”

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