Ramstein's Austin Layton, right, and Heidelberg's Danny Jones battle for position under the glass during the final game of the 2003 Kaiserslautern Christmas basketball tournament in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Ramstein's Austin Layton, right, and Heidelberg's Danny Jones battle for position under the glass during the final game of the 2003 Kaiserslautern Christmas basketball tournament in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Heidelberg's Andre Barnes scores two points against Ramstein during the final game of the 2003 Kaiserslautern Christmas basketball tournament in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Ramstein's Brian Rock, left, drives past Heidelberg defenders Rodney Bailey, right, and Danny Jones to sink a basket during the final game of the 2003 Kaiserslautern Christmas basketball tournament in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Mannheim’s women and Ramstein’s men won titles Sunday in the 23rd annual Kaiserslautern Christmas basketball tournament. Mannheim defeated Heidelberg 66-61 and Ramstein defeated Heidelberg 61-45.
The Ramstein Rams ran the Generals off the court with a 21-9 run to open the second half.
“If teams don’t have enough guards to run with us, they’re done for,” Ramstein’s Brandon Le Blanc said.
Doing in Heidelberg on Sunday were tournament MVP Austin Layton, who scored eight of his game-high 16 points during the decisive burst, and teammate Troy Myles, who scored 15. Le Blanc scored seven points, including five-for-eight shooting from the line, after Heidelberg began fouling in an attempt to slow the game.
Rodney Bailey and Andre Barnes each scored 11 points for Heidelberg, which didn’t have the depth to keep up with the Rams’ bench. Danny Jones and Josef McHomes each added 10 points for Heidelberg.
Ramstein coach Larry Glover was delighted with his team’s victory in the oldest Army-Europe holiday basketball tournament.
“It establishes our credibility,” he said. “It shows we’re competitive, and the other teams have to account for us. It’s also a confidence-builder for my team. Ramstein has come up short all those years, but now the players know they can do it.”
Mannheim women 66, Heidelberg 61 (OT)
Mannheim guard Laura Morant made a layup and then sank the foul shot for a three-point play in overtime that sealed the victory for the Lady Mustangs. Morant scored seven of her 13 points in overtime.
The play gave the Lady Mustangs a 64-61 lead with 20 seconds left, and Heidelberg, which erased an eight-point Mann- heim lead in the final two minutes of regulation, had no answers.
Heidelberg’s Katina Miles, who scored eight points, scored six in the final 1:19 of regulation on a pair of three-pointers from the right wing. The first cut Mannheim’s lead to 53-52, and the second put Heidelberg ahead 55-53 with 55 seconds left.
While the full-court press got Heidelberg back into the game, Mannheim perhaps got the biggest turnover. With Heidelberg holding the ball and the lead, Morant stole the ball and fed a wide-open Frances Miles under the basket for the layup to tie the game at 55 with 30 seconds to play.
Vanessa McClendon, who scored 11 points, hit a jumper to put Heidelberg up 57-55 with nine seconds left, but Heidelberg’s Tiffany Collins, who scored a game-high 22 points, knocked a driving Precious Blackman to the floor with three seconds left, and the veteran Blackman hit both free throws to force overtime.
Blackman led Mannheim with 21 points.
Mannheim men, Sigonella women take third
Mannheim’s men, who dropped a 54-47 game to Heidelberg in Saturday’s semifinals, defeated Kaiserslautern 65-53 Sunday morning to claim third place. K-town fell 93-52 to Ramstein in Saturday’s semis.
The Sigonella women, 53-38 losers to Heidelberg in the semis, beat K-town 37-25 Sunday for third place. Kaiserslautern lost to Mannheim 67-28 in Saturday’s semis.
