WIESBADEN, Germany – It may be just the second weekend of the season, but Ben Osman and the Stuttgart boys basketball team want to make one thing clear:

They’re back.

One year after placing fifth in the DODEA European championships, the Panthers went toe to toe with defending champion Wiesbaden this weekend, including a 46-38 victory Saturday afternoon at Wiesbaden High School.

“I think it should be message that we’re here – we never really left,” Osman said. “Everybody should know that we can beat anybody.”

Stuttgart’s win on Saturday came after a five-point overtime loss the night before against the Warriors (3-1, 1-1). In that one, the Panthers (3-1, 1-1) surrendered a nine-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

For Stuttgart coach Christopher Jackson, Saturday’s bounce back win was nice – but not the most important thing he wanted his Panthers to take from the game.

“Really, it’s not about the victory at this point – it’s about how you play,” Jackson said. “It was important to play better than we did (Friday), and I think we did that.”

His counterpart, David Brown, also wasn’t as worried about wins and losses so early in the season. Instead, he just wanted to continue to see continual improvement from his squad.

“I think winning (Friday) night probably wasn’t a great thing,” Brown said. “I think had we lost (Friday) night, we would have played better today. We didn’t play well in either game, but that’s good for us to get better as the season goes on.”

On Saturday, the teams were evenly matched, with neither side producing a lead larger than five points until the final 4 minutes of the game. At that point, the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to finish the contest.

The one constant challenge facing Stuttgart: Joel Idowu. Jackson described Wiesbaden’s junior center as the best defender in DODEA-Europe, and the Panthers lacked the size to trouble him in the paint.

So, they spread out the floor and hit a couple of three-pointers early, via Osman (three from beyond the arc) and Kurt Flores (one in the opening frame). Max Andrysiak added a pair in the second half.

“We have to keep (Idowu) moving and attack him. If he gets comfortable and he’s able to protect the rim, there’s nothing we can do,” Jackson said.

“So, we knew we needed to move the basketball and get downhill to have him move more and not be so stationary.”

Still, the Warriors enjoyed a 26-21 lead at the 6-minute, 3-second mark in the third quarter and looked to be pulling away.

That’s when Stuttgart found its rhythm again. Osman found an open Andrysiak for a three-pointer at the 4:49 mark. Then on the next possession, Flores grabbed a rebound and went the length of the court for a layup to erase the deficit.

The Stuttgart defense clamped down in the final quarter. Wiesbaden guard Eli Kidd used a reverse layup at the 6:17 mark to give the Warriors a 38-36 lead.

But that proved to be the hosts’ last points of the game.

“Defense to offense, it was just one motion,” Osman said. “We knew what we were doing, everybody in the right spot, and it just felt good.”

Osman paced the Panthers with a game-high 19 points, but Stuttgart showed it’s more than a one-man show.

Flores and Andrysiak both reached double-digit points with 14 and 11, respectively. Andrysiak also came up one rebound shy of a double-double.

Jackson said his squad has plenty of scorers. He said two who didn’t even step on the floor can put the ball into the bucket.

“We present a matchup problem every night because we have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket,” Jackson said. “The whole key is they’re now trusting each other. The more that we trust each other and move the ball and find the better shot, the harder we’re going to be able to guard.”

Brown, too, had praise for his players. The Warriors bring back just five players from last year’s championship squad, and many are stepping into new roles.

So, while Idowu posted a double-double of 12 points and 20 boards, Kidd led the way with 13 points.

“Some kids shy away from (new roles) – my kids are not shying away from that at all,” Brown said. “They want the smoke. They want to see how good they can be.”

Stuttgart doesn’t hide what it wants to do on the court – smother opponents into submission.

Take Saturday afternoon’s 62-22 victory over Wiesbaden, for example. The Panthers (4-0, 2-0) led from start to finish and forced 51 Warrior turnovers.

“We’re a defensive built team,” said Stuttgart’s Alicia Wiggins, who had 10 of her 12 points in the opening quarter. “Our No. 1 thing is play defense, play smart, play together. We really showed that today.”

The Panthers didn’t invoke the mercy rule until 18.2 seconds were left in the game via an Addie Jennings finger roll.

The reason: Coach Nathan Garrett wanted to give his younger players some time on the floor.

The second group spent much of the third and fourth quarters on the floor, before Garrett inserted the starting lineup with a few minutes left in the game.

Senior Serenity Sampson totaled 20 points for the Panthers, while fellow senior Hannah Holmes chipped in with another 14.

“That fire, that drive. They have to struggle a little bit. Part of my job as a coach is to watch them struggle and … to teach them they have to keep working through that struggle so that we can accomplish the goal we’re trying to accomplish,” Garrett said. “Then, I put (the starters) back in because we’ve got Ramstein after the break. I’ve got to kind of get all cylinders firing, too, and get ready for them.”

New Wiesbaden coach Duane Stine said the Warriors (2-2, 0-2), led by Keyoni Green’s six points, have plenty of work to do.

“Something that I think we lack is really buying into our setup,” Stine said. “The girls are used to a previous coach and getting them to buy into a new identity going forward is something that we’re going to really press hard on them.”

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