No. 9 Trailblazers stay close but fall short in NJCAA Top-10 showdown

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VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 9 Vincennes University Trailblazers faced their toughest test this season Wednesday night at the P.E. Complex in No.  4 John A. Logan.

VU battled all night and had the game tied with under seven minutes to go before the Volunteers pulled away late to pick up the 78-68 win over Vincennes.

This game lived up to the standard of a top-10 NJCAA showcase, with the two Region 24 squads trading baskets throughout.

John A. Logan grabbed the early momentum with a seven-point first half lead, before VU quickly erased this lead and would outscore the Vols 19-9 to take a 29-26 lead.

The score was tied six times in the opening half and the lead changed hands nine times in the opening 20 minutes of play, including at the buzzer when VU sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) sank a three to give the Trailblazers a 39-38 halftime lead.

Vincennes looked to make their move in the second half and built a four-point, 52-48 lead midway through the second half.

John A. Logan would rally back to even the game at 60-60 as we headed into the under seven minutes media timeout.

Coming out of this time out, the Volunteers took their game to another level, going on an 11-1 run and grabbing all of the momentum from the big Vincennes crowd.

Vincennes would battle to the end but were unable to put together a scoring run to get back into it as John A. Logan closed out the game at the free throw line and picked up the 78-68 win over the Trailblazers.

The lead changed a staggering 16 times Wednesday night, with the score being tied 10 times in this tough top-10 NJCAA matchup.