SPANGDAHLEM, Germany – The AFNORTH boys basketball team lives for chaos.

Take Friday evening’s 83-73 victory over Spangdahlem for example.

The Lions (3-2, 3-0 in Division III) sped up the game to get past the Sentinels in transition, exploding in the second half for 49 points. The tempo also led to more fouls, with each squad losing two starters over the final minutes of the game.

That double-edged sword is something the Lions must mitigate if they wish to reach their goal of finishing better than fourth place this season, guard Stefan Termure said.

“We love energetic situations,” he said. “We strive in that, but we have to stay composed and adapt to the game.”

That second-half effort erased a 12-point deficit AFNORTH faced at the 2-minute, 19-second mark in the second quarter. The Lions chipped away at it with a 17-4 run that ended with 4:04 left in the third period off a Termure pass to Philipp Bergmann.

Lions coach Derek Kujat praised his players’ efforts to come back from being down double digits, especially in their first outing since a buzzer-beating loss to SHAPE right before the winter break.

“They showed great effort, great composure to battle back being down what they were down,” Kujat said. “That shows that they have the heart and determination.”

Along with speeding up the game, AFNORTH made a concerted effort to shore up the defensive glass after halftime.

Spangdahlem’s Zander Doulder terrorized the visitors in the second quarter. The senior dropped eight putback points as part of his team-high 21 points. He also grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first half.

Doulder recorded just one in the second half. He finished with 15 total boards.

“Coach called us into the locker room and gave us a stern talking to,” Termure said. “We had to wake up and box out. It was a team effort, and we just put our butts on them.”

One player really shined in the second half: Vincent Sheehan. The Alconbury transfer amassed 20 of his game-high 31 points over the final 16 minutes.

He did it through various means – deep three-pointers, layups in transition and even went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the closing minutes to seal the victory.

“We need a good, quick bucket, we rely on him, and we certainly appreciated it when he came to us,” Termure said of Sheehan.

Termure recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Teammate Jackson Lojka chipped in with 18.

Spangdahlem had four players reach double figures with Caleb Jackson (15), Jase Tyer (13) and Nehemiah Smith (11) joining Doulder.

Coach Aaron Wells said the Sentinels’ effort on Friday was a step in the right direction.

“The guys that are out there, they understand the level of effort we have to execute with to have a chance to win basketball games,” Wells said. “As far as team basketball, I proud of that the most tonight, even though we didn’t pull out the victory.”

It doesn’t matter how many players AFNORTH has lost from last year – Spangdahlem coach Raymound Sigeunza has no doubt who’s the cream of the crop in Division III.

“AFNORTH has been for the last (four) years now the bar,” he said. “So, everybody in our division’s really got to step up to the challenge them.”

In Friday’s nightcap, the Lions proved Siguenza’s assessment correct.

AFNORTH led from start to finish en route to a 34-16 victory over the Sentinels. The win stretched the Lions’ unbeaten run to start the season to five games.

Not bad for a squad that boasts just six upperclassmen and just four returners.

“It goes to show you the improvement from year to year throughout our program,” coach Matt Wise said of the players stepping into new and bigger roles. “From Player 1 to 22, they’re all giving effort, and they’re all leaders in their own unique ways.”

Still, AFNORTH showed its growing pains. The Lions committed 50 turnovers by the final whistle.

Junior Emery Koger (13 points) said the team must slow down a bit when on offense.

“We came out of the gate really fast paced, pushing the ball up too fast. We needed to control ourselves,” she said. “Coach talked to us about that, and we worked really hard the second half about understanding when our time is to take [advantage] and when to slow the ball down.”

Wise easily could have claimed having just three days of practice this week after two weeks off played a factor in those turnovers. But he said that discredits the Sentinels’ defensive effort on Friday.

“Spang’s given us a lot to think about for Saturday and encountering them again in the future,” Wise said. “A lot of that credit goes to them.”

Sophomore forward Izzy Trosper added eight points for AFNORTH.

As for how Spangdahlem stacks up against the Lions, Sigeunza said he sees his ball club inching closer.

Kylie McVey grabbed 10 boards for the Sentinels, while she, Aniya Robinson and Summer Mundy each scored four points.

“We’ve made some great improvements,” Sigeunza said. “Obviously, we still got a lot of progress to make, but I’m really happy with the showing for today.”

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