If this was a preview of the DODDS-Europe Division I boys basketball championship game, then that game is not to be missed.
The two-time defending champion Patch Panthers survived a severe test from their closest competition Friday night at Ramstein, edging the host Royals 51-50 and preserving their undefeated record by the thinnest of margins.
Untimely foul trouble and a costly three-point third quarter doomed Ramstein's otherwise stout upset bid. The teams' vaunted frontcourts played to a near-standoff in terms of scoring, with Patch's Robert Braswell and Colin Whitten scoring 22 and Ramstein's Jesse Gray and Trey Bailey posting 23.
Connor Howlett stepped up with 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, for the Panthers. Xavier Harper matched that point total for the Royals.
Patch will attempt to run its regular-season table next weekend against Vilseck. The 10-2 Royals travel to SHAPE.
The European tournament begins the week after, running Feb. 18-21 at Wiesbaden.
Sigonella 74/76, Aviano 62/72: At Sigonella, the Jaguars completed a sweep of the Saints with a three-overtime Saturday classic.
With fatigue setting in, Sigonella turned to reserve freshman Alex Ogletree for crucial minutes in Saturday's seventh period. Ogletree responded, drawing a key charge and scoring four needed points to help finish off the win and the sweep.
Chris Moore led the Jaguars with 28 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists, while Jason Belin added 19 and Thomas Wray scored 16 for the Jaguars.
The home team took a comfortable double-digit victory Friday behind more heroics from its three stars. Moore led the way with 31 points, six rebounds and five steals, Wray added 22 points and six rebounds and Berlin had 14 points and six steals.
Brussels 53/44, Menwith Hill 30/22: At Brussels, the Brigands twice routed the still-winless Mustangs.
Michael DeFazio scored 25 points on Friday and 13 more on Saturday to lead the defending Division III champions to the sweep.
Jonathan Brugman led the Mustangs with 17 combined points and 19 total rebounds on the weekend.
Menwith Hill will be hard-pressed to avoid a winless final season, as it rounds out the regular-season slate against Alconbury next weekend. From there the Mustangs will wrap up the program's history with a berth in the Division III tournament.
Black Forest Academy 43/43, Baumholder 32/23: At Kandern, Germany, the Falcons dispatched the Bucs.
Jonah Greathouse scored 16 points in each game for BFA, which has now won five of its last six games entering next weekend's regular-season finale doubleheader at Bitburg.
Kadarius Williams led the Bucs on both occasions, scoring 10 on Friday and 13 on Saturday.
Baumholder will host local Division I power Kaiserslautern next weekend before making a run at the Division III championship.
Hohenfels 75/54, Bitburg 43/51: At Hohenfels, the Tigers recorded a tidy sweep of the Division II rival Barons.
All-Europe running back and Hohenfels senior David Vidovic switched over to the basketball equivalent of quarterback with a dazzling array of assists. Vidovic dished out nine on Friday and 10 more on Saturday to keep the Tiger offense purring.
A number of Hohenfels teammates played the beneficiary; Gabe Penn (15) and Jared Johnson (13) cracked double digits Friday, while Brandon Schull (17) and Justin Standifer (16) did so Saturday.
It was enough to trump the efforts of Bitburg's own star running back turned basketball playmaker. Curtiss Wilson turned in back-to-back double-double performances, going for 16 points and 26 rebounds on Friday and 17 points and 17 rebounds on Saturday.
Kaiserslautern 58/43, Wiesbaden 47/49: The Warriors mercifully ended a spiraling seven-game losing streak with a Saturday win, the first for the squad since Jan. 10.
Gavin Adams led a resurgent Wiesbaden frontcourt with 16 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's redemptive triumph. Anthony Little added 15 points and five rebounds and Fabrice Niland scored nine as the Warrior forwards outplayed Kaiserslautern's own solid unit.
On Friday at Kaiserslautern, the Raiders opened the home-and-home series with a convincing double-digit win.
Ja'Markus Myles scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack that also featured Malcolm Clark and Caleb Chastain cracking double-digits with 10 points apiece.
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