Hohenfels' Bronson Jackson blocks a shot from AFNORTH's Phillip Bergman during the Division III semifinals of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Baumholder will vie for a seventh Division III hoops title in the last decade after a convincing 71-47 victory over Spangdahlem in boys’ semifinal action Friday.
The Buccaneers on Saturday will take on AFNORTH, a team that finds itself in the finals after a long drought.
The Lions squeaked out a 71-69 win over Hohenfels in the first semifinal game Friday morning.
The victory ensures AFNORTH will move up the ladder in the final 2026 DODEA-Europe Division III standings, finally ending a streak they’d rather not have had.
“We’ve been fourth three times in a row,” said senior guard Jackson Lojka, who put up 17 points – including four three-pointers – and grabbed 12 rebounds against Hohenfels. “We’re really excited to show everybody what we’ve got.”
AFNORTH senior Davon Jones goes for a layup against Hohenfels during a Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. The Lions advanced to the championship game with a 71-69 victory. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem junior Jase Tyler shoots the ball under heavy defensive pressure against Baumholder in a Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem senior Zander Doulder wins the jump ball against Baumholder senior Skylar Cooper at the start of their Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder senior Gregory Makubuya goes for a layup under pressure from Spagdahlem junior Jase Tyler during the Division III semifinals of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. Baumholder won the contest, 71-47, and advanced to the championship game against AFNORTH. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder senior Gregory Makubuya jumps for a layup during the Division III semifinals of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. Baumholder won the contest, 71-47, and advanced to the championship game against AFNORTH. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH looked to be in control of the game at the end of three quarters, outscoring the Tigers 18-12 to make it 54-46 with one quarter remaining.
But with just under 1 minute, 50 seconds to go and the Tigers down by seven, Hohenfels senior Jacob Berkau sparked an unlikely comeback with a layup followed by a three-pointer he launched while falling backwards, and a free throw, to trim AFNORTH’s lead to two points.
But on the other end of the court, Lojka answered with a three-pointer and the Lions’ lead was up to 66-61 with 1:22 to go.
In the final frenzied minute, the teams traded baskets and free throws, with Hohenfels’ Kyrin Smith connecting via a layup with under 15 seconds left to make the score 70-69. But in the final seconds, the Tigers were denied and AFNORTH senior point guard Vincent Sheehan converted a free throw to close out the win.
Sheehan had 19 points on the day, including three three-pointers. AFNORTH junior point guard Stefan Termure added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Key for the Lions was trying to contain Berkau, Lojka said. Berkeau, a point guard, led all scorers with 29 points, but it might have been more, had AFNORTH not put another defender on him.
“We knew we had to lock him up, so we did a double-team on him,” Lojka said.
Other high scorers for the Tigers were Smith with 20 points and junior Bronson Jackson with 13.
Lojka said he and his teammates want to bring home AFNORTH’s first boys’ basketball title in a decade, “not just for ourselves, but for our families, for our community,” he said. “We want to get the job done.”
AFNORTH's Jason Goldsmith and Hohenfels' Lucas Gibbs fight for the opening tip-off of their Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH senior Jackson Lojka brings in a rebound in a Division III semifinal game against Hohenfels during the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. The Lions won the close contest 71-69. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Lions senior Vincent Sheehan attempts to block Hohenfels' Jacob Berkau during their Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. AFNORTH will face Baumholder in the championship game. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels sophomore Kyrin Smith drives the ball with a pick assist from teammate Lucas Gibbs during their semifinal game against AFNORTH during the Division III 2026 DODEA European basketball championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels senior Jacob Berkau passes the ball off during a Division III semifinal game of the 2026 DODEA European championships at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 13, 2026. AFNORTH defeated Hohenfels 71-69. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)
The Lions will likely have all they can handle in the finals against the defending champions. Baumholder never trailed in the semifinals, outscoring Spangdahlem 16-12 in the first quarter and building on that to take a 36-27 lead into halftime.
But the Sentinels, who a week ago came up short by only seven points in their last contest against Baumholder, were still within striking distance.
That’s when the Buccaneers galvanized their defense, holding Spangdahlem to eight points in the third quarter while scoring 20 themselves to make it 56-35. Three of those points came at the buzzer when Baumholder sophomore Jaylon Bilbrew pulled up for a long three-pointer as the third quarter ended.
“That was at half-court almost,” Bilbrew said after the game. “When I put my arm up and I saw it touch in front of the rim, I was like, ‘yeah, it’s going to go in.’”
In the fourth quarter, Baumholder put up another 20 points and held Spangdahlem to just 12.
“I think our defense was a whole lot better today,” coach Dewayne Piggé said. “The first couple games (of the tournament) we struggled with our defense, but today defense is what won it for us.”
Senior Skylar Cooper, a 6-foot-6 center, led the Buccaneers with 18 points. Greg Makubuya chipped in 17 and junior Artez Williams had 16.
For Spangdahlem, junior guard Jase Tyler had 18 points and junior forward Caleb Jackson tallied 16.
