WIESBADEN, Germany -- It's easy to marginalize the regular season in a league that allows every team into the playoffs. But it turns out the regular season can be very instructive.

The same teams that have dominated DODDS-Europe basketball all winter fit naturally into their roles as favorites Wednesday as the Division I boys and girls tournaments got under way at sites around Wiesbaden.

The two-time defending champion Patch boys notched two double-digit wins, as did the reigning Wiesbaden girls. Both automatically advance to the semifinals by winning their lone games Thursday. And would likely still move on with losses.

The large-school brackets continue preliminary play Thursday, with the semifinals to follow Friday and the title games set for Saturday evening.

GirlsVicenza 65, Lakenheath 33: The fourth-seeded Cougars opened the tournament with a convincing defeat of the fifth-seeded Lancers.

Vicenza star Emma Knapp outscored Lakenheath by herself, pouring in 34 points to the Lancers' 33. While a bit self-conscious about her season-long high-volume scoring habits, Knapp knows that lots of points are needed from her if the Cougars are to compete.

"For us, everyone has their role. I score," said Knapp, who added eight rebounds, three steals and three assists on the game. "It's not fun for me. I make sure I have everyone involved. Everyone can participate."

The game started equitably enough as both teams found early offensive success. But the Lancers stalled while the Cougars pressed on, outscoring Lakenheath 20-6 in the second quarter and growing their lead to 21 points just before halftime on a three-pointer by Federica Volk.

Lakenheath, meanwhile, recovered for a 42-35 victory over Vilseck on Wednesday evening.

Wiesbaden 47, Vilseck 17: The Warriors didn't give the field much cause for optimism in an early-morning rout of the Falcons.

Catherine Klein and Cierra Martin, the All-Europe frontcourt that fueled last year's title run, led the way over Vilseck with 13 and nine points, respectively.

The Warriors completed a perfect first day with an afternoon 50-25 win over Vicenza. Martin went for a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in that victory. Wiesbaden has just one game on its docket Thursday, a morning tilt with Lakenheath.

Ramstein 42, SHAPE 2: The second-seeded Royals held the Spartans scoreless until the final minute of the second quarter in a lopsided win over the bracket's bottom seed.

Spartan freshman Angela Mitchell swished a sideline jumper with 45 seconds to play before halftime to avoid a first-half SHAPE shutout, a fate the new Division I entry couldn't avoid in a hapless second half.

Ramstein completed its opening day with a 38-26 win over seventh-seeded Naples.

Things should get more challenging for the Royals in short order as they'll tangle with rivals Kaiserslautern and Patch on Thursday. The third-seeded Panthers positioned themselves for a semifinal berth with a 48-18 win over SHAPE and a 39-21 drubbing of Kaiserslautern.

BoysKaiserslautern 52, Vilseck 49: Guard Jeremy Morgan and the third-seeded Raiders weathered a sustained upset bid from the persistent Falcons.

The Raiders spent the bulk of each quarter building their lead to around 10 points only to watch Vilseck consistently claw back to within two possessions. The last of these rallies nearly proved fatal.

Vilseck guard Johnathan Wade nailed a three-pointer and converted a driving layup on consecutive trips downcourt to give the sixth-seeded Falcons a one-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

But Raider point guard Morgan coolly sank five of six free throws down the stretch to secure the Kaiserslautern win.

"We lost composure at the end," said Morgan, who finished with 20 points. "Luckily we found a way back."

As for those high-stakes free throws, Morgan claimed to be "not nervous at all" as he stepped to the stripe.

"I always want the ball in my hands," Morgan said.

The win clinched an undefeated first day for Kaiserslautern, which handled bottom-seed SHAPE 46-17 earlier Wednesday.

The loss spoiled an otherwise promising start for Vilseck, last year's tournament Cinderella. The Falcons opened Wednesday morning with a 45-38 defeat of seventh-seeded Vicenza, but they'll face SHAPE and Ramstein on Thursday with their chances to advance in peril.

Patch 55, Wiesbaden 40: A rematch of last year's European championship game gradually devolved into a mismatch.

It didn't look that way early as an energetic Wiesbaden team jumped out in front. Two three-pointers by Fabrice Niland capped a furious game-opening run that gave the Warriors a 16-9 lead through one quarter.

That proved to be Wiesbaden's best shot. Patch assumed the lead two minutes before halftime on an offensive rebound, putback and ensuing foul shot by senior forward Colin Whitten; a late third-quarter flurry pushed the Panther advantage to eight points, and the fourth quarter was academic.

Whitten finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Patch.

The win completed a 2-0 start for the two-time defending champions and undefeated top seed. The Panthers defeated Naples 45-34 earlier Wednesday, though the Wildcats recovered for a late 47-41 win over Lakenheath to salvage a break-even first day.

The frustration continued, meanwhile, for the hometown Warriors, who suffered a weeks-long losing streak late in the regular season. Wiesbaden opened its tournament with a 48-41 loss to Lakenheath.

Ramstein 37, SHAPE 22: The second-seeded Royals survived an early scare from the Spartans to win their opener.

Ramstein played SHAPE to an anemic 6-6 draw through the first quarter and struggled to pull away in the second, eventually taking a slender 12-8 lead into halftime. But the third quarter went better - the Royals matched their first-half output with 12 points in the quarter while holding the Spartans to just three points.

The Royals, potentially the top threat for Patch in the tournament, downed Vicenza 55-41 in the final game of the night to improve to 2-0 on the day.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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