KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The Vilseck boys basketball team trailed for most of the first half yet found itself tied heading into the break Saturday against Kaiserslautern.

The previous night the Falcons defeated the Raiders by 10 points. So, they knew what to do. Vilseck just needed to lock in.

That phrase described Barkale Johnson in the third quarter. The forward carried the offensive load on his shoulders, scoring Vilseck’s first eight buckets as visitors pulled away for a 63-54 victory at Kaiserslautern High School.

Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points.

“We just had to lock in and take advantage of what they gave us,” he said. “Space, my teammates giving it to me, and I did what I could. … It was a really good game.”

Johnson really took advantage of the offensive boards for Vilseck (2-0, 2-0). He opened the third frame with four consecutive putback buckets, and he added a fifth at the 3 minute, 56 second mark.

Those points were a part of a 16-3 run Johnson completed on his own against the Raiders (0-2, 0-2). He added another basket with a second remaining to amass 18 points in the period.

Johnson finished the game with 20 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive glass.

“I expect to see it every game,” Vilseck coach Adrian Crawford said. “If you’re on the court, you are expected to produce. Everybody’s free to score … but Barkale really should be doing that every game.”

Johnson wasn’t the only one to make his mark on the scoresheet.

Guard Brandon Goins helped the Falcons stay in the game early on, as the Falcons trailed by seven. Goins did a lot of damage at the charity stripe, where he went 6 of 6 in the first 8 minutes.

He added another free throw in the second quarter, but that’s when Goins started moving in transition. He scored two layups and added another couple drives to give Vilseck a few one-point leads.

He scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half.

The Falcons also saw contributions from their bench, which was thin heading into the weekend. Vilseck was shorthanded because of some players taking the SAT and illness. That seemed like a problem as foul trouble piled up for the away team.

Forced to use some of his JV players, Crawford was pleasantly surprised the level didn’t drop off much on Saturday. Instead, he now might have more depth than he thought.

“They held their own quite well,” Crawford said. “I’m looking forward to the next week in practice to see the integration. It looked pretty good.”

Kaiserslautern started off the game well and looked to attack the basket. Coach Gabriell Horton said the Raiders wanted to use the new foul rules to their advantage.

They managed to do so, going to the free-throw line 26 times. Kaiserslautern, however, missed 14 of them.

While ruing those misses, Horton found plenty of positives from the game. Four Raiders reached double figures in scoring, paced by center Uray Dukuly and guard Rueben Todman with 14 points each. Caleb Ringer contributed 11 off the bench, while Logan Bell added another 10.

Dukuly finished the game with a double-double, having corralled 13 rebounds.

“We’re implementing a new system this year,” Horton said. “It’s working on the lower level, but at the varsity level, we still need to work some things out.

“We’re confident. I saw some good basketball.”

Girls

Kaiserslautern 59, Vilseck 20: The Raiders girls basketball team is in the midst of a makeover.

The Raiders have a new coach in Natasha Riggins, who wants to put last year’s 8-13 record between the regular season and tournament behind them.

“We’re trying to bring a new image (to the program),” Riggins said. “So, we’re bringing different strategies, we’re seeing what strengths each individual player has and we’re trying to get them to play to their strengths.”

Two games in, the image is of a higher quality.

Kaiserslautern opened the season with a pair of mercy-rule victories over the Falcons, including Saturday afternoon’s home win.

The Raiders (2-0, 2-0) led from start to finish.

“We’re very excited, but we’re definitely going to continue to work hard,” said starter Gigi Quinland, a newcomer who had five points Saturday. “We’re going to take it as, yeah, we won, but we still have more to go. And we’re going to keep pushing each other as best we can.”

One player who stood out against the Falcons (0-2, 0-2) was Katya von Eicken.

The senior point guard joined Kaiserslautern from crosstown rival Ramstein, and she posted a double-double of 18 points and 12 steals. She proved to be a menace for ballhandlers, pressing Falcons into bad situations and sometimes just taking the ball right out of their hands.

“Katya’s a very good asset for our team,” Riggins said. “We love all the talent that she brings to our team.”

To go with von Eicken’s performance, senior Emma Arambula totaled 11 points.

Despite the loss, Vilseck coach Cole Koenig said he was pleased by the improvement shown between Games 1 and 2. The Falcons surpassed their Friday total in the first quarter and ended up quintupling it by the game’s end.

Sophomore Nyley Benson had 11 points to pace her squad.

“Even with (Friday’s) loss, the girls had confidence,” Koenig said. “OK, it’s a learning game. Shake off the loss, but we learned what we can do and what we can do better. I’m really impressed, and I’m ready for the season.”

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