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HEIDELBERG, Germany – Heidelberg’s boys and girls posted home victories Friday night to keep both teams in contention for the Region III title. Heidelberg’s boys had to rally in the second half to defeated Vilseck 61-52; the Lady Lions rode 25 points from Rebecca Luna to a 54-39 triumph.

Heidelberg boys 61, Vilseck 52All it took for the Heidelberg boys to rebound from a 30-24 halftime deficit on Friday night was a dose of cohesion.At halftime, “We thought about how we needed to come together as a team,” senior Wayne Dawkins said. “We know we can’t do it individually.”Thought became action in the first 3 minutes, 56 seconds of the third period when the Lions mounted a 15-0 run against their Region III rivals, who two weeks from now will change from a regional to a divisional foe in the European Division I tournament.All-Europe senior Sam Rosario scored seven of his 15 points during the run, which by putting Heidelberg up 39-30 looked as though it would prove decisive.That view, however, wasn’t shared by the resilient Falcons, who came into the Lions’ den riding a three-game winning streak against Division I foes and responded with a 5-0 run of their own to cut their gap to four points as the third period was winding down. But that was as close as Vilseck was to get the rest of the way. Marcel Simon took charge in the final eight minutes, scoring nine of his 15 points over that span, and propelling the defending European Division I champion Lions to their 18th straight victory. Dawkins and Maurice Simon each scored 11 points to help Heidelberg improve to 11-0 overall and 9-0 in Region III this season.“When we play together, we mix like concrete,” Dawkins summarized. “When we come together, there’s not a team in DOODS that can beat us.” The loss, which came in spite of a game-high 16 points by Trey Adkins, eliminated Vilseck (8-3, 6-3) from the Region III race, but not from the will to win Saturday’s rematch at Heidelberg nor from the Division I race two weeks hence at Wiesbaden.“You could see it in their eyes tonight,” Dawkins said. “They’re not finished.”

Heidelberg girls 54, Vilseck 39Twenty-five points from senior guard Luna and early foul trouble for three of Vilseck’s eight-player roster proved decisive Friday night.Luna found her stroke early and often, hitting two-of-three 3-point attempts during a 15-point first half, and finishing the game three-of-four from behind the arc. She also went seven-of-10 from the free-throw line.For Vilseck, meanwhile, the fouls kept altering the game plan. Scoring threat China Sumpter picked up her fourth foul with 4:23 left before halftime, and managed just seven points before she fouled out with 4:50 left in the game. Defensive star Taylor Hall also battled the whistle before fouling out with 3:30 left, and athletic forward Mariah Morris also found her activity curtailed by fouls. She picked up her fourth halfway through the third period.Even so, the Falcons battled. Trailing 24-15 at intermission after a dismal three-point second quarter, Vilseck clawed back into contention with a 6-0 run to open the second half. Senior Deraj’ McClinton, who finished with a team-high 13 points, drove the lane for consecutive layups during the bid to cut the gap to 24-21, but Heidelberg junior Kylee Miller stepped in to end the threat.Standing just 5-foot-3, Miller connected for two put-back baskets and collected a third offensive rebound to help Heidelberg respond to the 6-0 burst with a 10-3 run which led to 40-29 lead after three periods. Chelsea Shivers dominated the final eight minutes for Heidelberg, scoring six of her 10 points, collecting three rebounds and handing out an assist over that span.The victory kept Heidelberg, 9-2 overall, alive in the Region III race at 8-1. Vilseck fell to 6-5, 5-4. bryanr@estripes.osd.mil

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