Heidelberg's Maurice Simon shoots over Lakenheath's Brinsley Walker in a Division I semifinal at the DODDS-Europe basketball championships. Heidelberg advanced to the finals with a 48-41 win. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Heidelberg's Maurice Simon shoots over Lakenheath's Brinsley Walker in a Division I semifinal at the DODDS-Europe basketball championships. Heidelberg advanced to the finals with a 48-41 win. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Heidelberg's Marcel Simon shoots over Lakenheath's Albert Jones in the Lions' 48-41 Division I semifinal win over the Lancers at the DODDS-Europe basketball finals. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath's Brinsly Walker goes to the basket against Heidelberg's Marcel Simon in a Division I semifinal at the DODDS-Europe basketball championships. Lakenheath put up a tough fight, but fell to the Lions 48-41. At right is Maurice Simon. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein's Caleb Guerrido brings the ball down court as Kaiserslautern's Derryk Scarvers is in pursuit Friday in Ramstein's thrilling 74-71 semifinal win over the Raiders. (Dan Blottenberger/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Sixth-seeded Lakenheath took defending champion Heidelberg farther than the Lions might liked to have gone Friday night before falling 48-41 in the semifinals of the boys’ European Division I basketball tournament.For the sixth straight time, the team the Lions will meet in the D-I finale is Ramstein. The Royals prevailed 74-71 Friday night at Wiesbaden High School over a Kaiserslautern team that clawed into the lead with a minute to play. No other details were available on that game at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield fitness center, where Heidelberg and Lakenheath played.Heidelberg ended Ramstein’s two-year reign atop D-I last February with a 73-51 victory, and defeated the Royals for the title in 2007 and 2008.Lakenheath’s play Friday night made unbeaten Heidelberg’s trip to the finals uncertain.“I was nervous,” said Heidelberg senior Marcel Simon, who scored a game-high 17 points. “They were ahead by four at halftime.”Lakenheath’s 21-17 halftime edge resulted from a 15-7 second-quarter run during which Lakenheath went 7-for-8 from the floor. Freshman guard Kevin Holloway did most of the damage, canning a three-pointer and two two-pointers during the stretch.Heidelberg, however, stayed in touch behind three Wayne Dawkins buckets, then tightened up the defense after intermission, limiting all Lancers not named Brinsley Walker to just six points the rest of the way.Walker, who finished with a team-high 16 points, scored Lakenheath’s first 11 points in the second half and was an equal force under the boards.“We tried to foul him out,” said Heidelberg All-Europe guard Sam Rosario, “but he stayed in.”Instead of fouling out, Walker made a living at the line. He went 6-of-8 in the second half, 4-for-4 in the final period. Rosario endured a frustrating oh-for-four shooting drought in the first half before canning two shots in the third period en route to seven points.“I was relieved,” he said about finally getting something to fall.Heidelberg coach Ron Merriwether, a four-time European champion – once as a player and three times as a coach – was content with the way his team ground out the victory. “No one’s going to give you anything,” he said. “You’ve got to keep playing and respect your opponent.” And despite Lakenheath’s low seeding, the Lions had plenty of respect for this opponent. “We knew they’d be tough,” Dawkins said. “We saw them play a couple of games earlier. They almost beat Ramstein.”bryanr@estripes.osd.mil
