KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The Spangdahlem boys basketball team has been looking for a signature win. One to put others on notice.

It’s something the coaching staff harped on during practice this week. And it seems the Division III Sentinels took it to heart against Division I Kaiserslautern in a 51-46 victory Friday evening.

“We’re just trying to send a message,” Spangdahlem junior Robert Leggett said. “That’s what our coach has been saying: Just send a message. So, we’ve been just listening in practice and doing everything our coach has been telling us, hustling on the floor.”

Friday’s win was Spangdahlem’s second game against Division I opposition. The first came two weeks prior against Ramstein, a game in which the Sentinels (9-3) lost 66-27.

Four-year coach Matthew Cirillo said the team was disappointed it didn’t give Ramstein a tougher game, which added motivation against Kaiserslautern.

“It was nice to be able to play to the level we’re capable of and hopefully learn from it and grow,” Cirillo said. “Every game’s our opportunity to grow and become better as a team.”

Leading the way were juniors Leggett and Makario Drummond. Leggett posted a double-double, amassing a game-high 24 points and corralling 12 rebounds, while Drummond added another 16 points.

Leggett took it to another level in the fourth, when he dropped in eight points. The Sentinels hit a seven-point advantage following a Leggett runner with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game and again with 2:30 left after a Leggett stole a pass and took it the length of the court for a layup to make it 48-41.

Both times marked the largest lead for either squad.

“We have great chemistry,” Leggett said of Drummond. “We try to spread that to the other players on the court. When we do good, other people around us do good, and that’s what our goal is.”

Kaiserslautern (3-9) stayed in the game with some timely shots.

Jayden Dayao knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the night at the 1:25 mark to cut the deficit to four, and then Akori Ford stole the ball on the next possession and finished a layup to make it 48-46.

Dayao finished with a team-high 18, while Ford had 12 for the Raiders.

“My kids play hard,” Kaiserslautern coach Corey Sullivan said. “One of the greatest things about them – they play hard. They don’t give up.”

Spangdahlem iced the game in the end, turning to freshman Cameron Lewis at the charity stripe. He went 1-of-2 on the first attempt, and after junior Casey Supinger grabbed an offensive board, Lewis was fouled again and connected on both shots to make it a two-possession game with 6.9 seconds remaining.

“Big-time moment for a freshman starting his first varsity game, but at the same time, we knew he was ready for that moment,” Cirillo said of Lewis. “I’m not sure I would have picked anyone else in that moment.”

After making one statement, the Sentinels have a chance to make even more noise next weekend when they take on perennial D-III powerhouse Baumholder in a home-and-home series.

Cirillo said the team is looking forward to the matchups.

“Messages are good, but we’re looking to the head-to-head matchup next weekend,” Cirillo said. “That’s really when the message is most clear, right?”

Girls

Kaiserslautern had little time to prepare for Spangdahlem on Friday, having faced Wiesbaden on Wednesday.

Still, the Raiders took care of business, leading the whole way in a 35-8 victory.

“Even though we didn’t have much of a scouting report on the team, we were just like, ‘We’re going to play our game and hopefully come out with the win,’” senior captain Se’maiya Farrow said. “So, it was good.”

The Raiders (6-7) needed a win after losing to first-place Wiesbaden at home. Something both Farrow and her coach remarked upon Friday.

“Obviously, playing Wiesbaden didn’t turn out like we would have liked it, but we got a series split with them. So, we’re OK,” Raider coach Aaron Scalise said. “But coming back and being able to beat a team we didn’t really know a lot about and play decent basketball, we’re happy about that.”

Defense led the way for the Raiders.

They forced Spangdahlem into 37 turnovers, and the Raiders recorded 25 steals. Farrow had four of her five steals in the first half, fellow captain Lena Herrmann collected seven of her eight steals in the third quarter.

Farrow, who totaled a game-high nine points, mentioned the team missed numerous fast-break opportunities, but the Raiders generally aren’t a high-scoring team. Instead, they focus on trying to shut down teams.

“It’s very important for us to work on staying disciplined,” Farrow said. “I think we use that to our advantage today. A lot of times, we have our fast-break layups, but they weren’t really falling in.”

The Sentinels (7-5), meanwhile, rued not only the turnovers, but also many missed easy shots on the fast break and in the paint, coach Chris Howard said. He credited his players for getting back on defense, which he said helped keep the score low.

The coach also pointed out the Sentinels have some way to go in a short time before the start of the European championships in less than two weeks.

“We’ve got some good teams in D-III right now,” Howard said. “We’re going to have to play a hell of a lot better to match them. AFNORTH plays pretty solid, Sigonella plays pretty solid and there’s other teams that if they come in and have good games, anything can happen.”