KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Sleeping on an opposing school’s gym floor overnight following a loss generally is not a pleasant experience.

But it’s one that many DODEA-Europe basketball teams face during frequent Friday-Saturday matchups during the season. Saturday was a bit of a twist, though, with both teams coming off losses and both being visitors in another school’s gym.

Following a five-point loss to Ramstein on Friday evening, Vilseck took on Lakenheath, which had played Kaiserslautern on Friday, at Kaiserslautern High School. Vilseck bounced back the quickest, leading from start to finish en route to a 57-18 win.

“It was good to play a team that was just in our situation, stay the night, slept on a gym floor, kind of equal,” Falcons coach Rick Ritter said. “It was nice to see Lakenheath here, a good team win.”

It was a win in which the Falcons saw many roles reversed.

DeVaughn Terrell, Vilseck’s leading scorer in a 70-65 loss to Ramstein with 25 points, had only four against the Lancers. His brother, Kendall, however, bounced back from a rough shooting night with a game-high 18 points. Seven of those points came in the first quarter, as the Falcons jumped out to a 24-0 lead.

Joining Kendall atop the score sheet was Barkale Johnson with 14 and Brandon Goins with nine.

“He had a rough start last night, getting caught with the ball, wasn’t making too many shots,” DeVaughn said of his brother. “But today, he was very on point and he made sure he got his points and got a feel for the game better than he did last night.

“So, it’s a great way to come back from a loss like that last night.”

Not that DeVaughn didn’t influence the game.

The senior guard pulled down 13 rebounds, with all but one coming off the offensive glass. DeVaughn explained how the Falcons will face a size disadvantage against every team this season, so attacking the boards will be a team effort.

“We’re a small team, so we’re playing against much bigger teams,” DeVaughn said. “At the guard position, I have to get more rebounds, and with me being one of the bigger guards on my team, boxing out and doing everything that we can to get a board is a big thing for our team.”

Vilseck’s defense also did a number on Lakenheath, holding the Lancers scoreless until the 6-minute, 32-second mark in the second quarter when Jerry Maroney III found Max Mittenzwey open for a 3-pointer.

Overall, the Lancers shot 11 percent from the field and 7.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Lakenheath coach Alan Campbell credited the Falcons for getting the Lancers out of their offensive gameplan. He also said he expects the Lancers to improve throughout the season, especially when a few starters who missed the trip return to the lineup.

“We can’t try to be another team,” Campbell said. “We have some young players that we are developing, and if we can find our own identity, then we’ll be competitive. But if we try to be something that we’re not, we won’t be.”

Girls

Lakenheath’s A’Lydia McNeal normally doesn’t take it to the hole as often as she did during the Lancers’ 36-22 win over Vilseck on Saturday.

When she saw the Falcons were getting called for fouls consistently, however, McNeal adjusted.

“Once I saw that this team was fouling a lot, I knew that this is going to be a big part of the game,” McNeal said. “If they were going to foul, we were going to keep going to the line, and that’s how we get those easy points.”

McNeal went to the charity stripe for 18 shots, making nine, as she totaled a game-high 21 points for the Lancers. She managed this total despite a slow start, as Lakenheath didn’t score until the 3:20 mark in the first quarter.

Fellow post player Eden Wheeler added eight points.

“Ultimately, we want to go for the easy shots,” McNeal said of why the duo combined for 80 percent of Lakenheath’s output. “That’s why we get the most points, because we’re typically down low more often.”

On defense, the Lancers forced Vilseck into 25 turnovers, many of them steals. McNeal herself had 10, seven of which came in the first half to finish with a triple double (She also posted 11 rebounds).

Lakenheath coach Susan Reisch credited the team’s defensive mentality for the high turnovers.

“We’re hustling a lot,” Reisch said. “They’re kind of fearless. So, they’re stealing, putting pressure on them as much as possible.”

Vilseck was led by eight points from Scottlyn Smithson.

Falcons coach Adrian Crawford said the team was without a few starters because of SAT testing, but he wasn’t too upset with the loss. In fact, he cared most about seeing improvement from Friday’s loss to Ramstein.

“It’s really about getting your team to where they’re peaking in February,” Crawford said. “You don’t get regular-season banners in DODEA – you only get European ones. So, that’s the goal.”