Alconbury's Hayley Star, left, battles Baumholder's Eliyah Tillman for the ball in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury lost the game 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Hayley Star, left, battles Baumholder's Eliyah Tillman for the ball in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury lost the game 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Kira Thorn, left, looks for a pass around Baumholder's Taylor Lynch in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury was defeated 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Gia Gonzalez, left, and Baumholder's Taylor Lynch race for the ball in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury lost the game 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Marissa Kastler, jumps for a rebound in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury was defeated by Baumholder 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Tytianna Martinez goes up for a shot over Alconbury's Laela Evans, center, and Marianna Szukala in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder won the game 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Tytianna Martinez, right, dives for the ball past Alconbury's Marissa Kastler in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder won the game 31-12. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Anthony Stewart goes for a layup over Baumholder's defense in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury lost the game 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Tyler Gilhuys, left, and Baumholder's Michael Fleming race for the ball in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury was defeated 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Alconbury's Anthony Stewart, right, dribbles around Baumholder's Nate Horton in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Alconbury lost the game 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Michael Fleming, left, goes for a shot in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder defeated Alconbury 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Nate Horton dribbles up the court in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder defeated Alconbury 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Lester Jungbluth, right, goes for a layup over Alconbury's Jose Cordero in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder won the game 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Baumholder's Nate Horton, left, goes for a layup in Baumholder, Germany, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Baumholder won the game against Alconbury 61-36. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
BAUMHOLDER, Germany -- The boys and girls of Baumholder basketball followed similar scripts Saturday, and ended up with similar results.
Both Bucs squads followed sluggish starts with explosive second halves to blow out the visiting Alconbury Dragons.
GirlsBaumholder 31, Alconbury 12: Eliyah Tillman scored eight of her 15 points as the Bucs finally put away the Dragons Tillman's strong finish was part of a dominant second half in which the Bucs outscored the visitors 21-4.
That marked a sharp departure from an unremarkable first half that saw the Bucs score just five points in each quarter and left them with just a one-possesion lead at the halftime break. But Baumholder increased its activity on defense and offense and pulled away accordingly.
“We kind of pushed ourselves through it,” Tillman said. “You have to come out of it, and we kind of did that as a team.”
Bucs coach Matt Martinez emphasized that point at halftime, simply asking his team to sharpen its performance rather than making sweeping strategic changes.
“It was like our timing was off for the entire first half,” Martinez said. “At halftime I talked to the girls about making sure their passes were crisp, making sure we were taking care of our possessions.”
Point guard Tytianna Martinez, a welcome transfer from Division III rival Ansbach, added eight points for the Bucs.
Ashlyn Starr led the Dragons with six points.
BoysBaumholder 61, Alconbury 36: Like the girls before them, the boy Bucs increased their activity after halftime and reaped the rewards on the scoreboard.
Baumholder coach Dewayne Pigge’ took an approach much like that of Martinez. The first-year head coach told his team to stick to its “fundamental principles” while dialing up its offensive precision and defensive intensity.
“The guys knew that they had to capitalize on (Alconbury’s) mistakes,” Pigge’ said. “When they began to work together on defense, keeping their hands and feet moving, that made the change in the game.”
The Bucs grew a two-point lead through one quarter to nine at halftime with a strong nine-point advantage in the second quarter, and the Dragons never got that close again. Pigge’ hopes those results drive home his message for his players.
“As long as they continue to stick to the fundamentals, we’ll be OK,” Pigge’ said.
Standout wing Nate Horton got the message, and responded with an adjustment of his own. With his outside shot faltering, Horton focused on driving to the basket and redoubled his efforts on defense.
“We just had to play harder,” said Horton, who led all scorers with 18 points. “I couldn’t hit my shots, so I tried to do better on defense.”
Lester Jungbluth added 17 points and Michael Fleming had 12 for the Bucs. Tyler Gilhuys scored 14 for Alconbury.
