Dixon’s double-double leads No. 6 Blazers to 20th win of the season

CENTRALIA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers moved up in this week’s NJCAA Division I National rankings to No. 6 this week.

The Blazers hit the road for their only game of the week Wednesday night, heading to Centralia to take on Kaskaskia College.

The Blazers looked to get the ball into the block all night and were able to pull away in the second half for a 72-52 victory over the Blue Devils.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair, with VU grabbing an early 11-7 lead before the Blue Devils answered back to take a 17-15 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Vincennes then answered back with a 9-2 scoring run to take a 24-19 lead before the Blue Devils came back to cut the deficit down to one at 26-25.

The Blazers were able to close out the first half strong however, building their largest lead of the half at 33-26 and taking a 37-32 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.

VU looked to create some space on the scoreboard early in the second half and opened the final 20-minute period on a 14-4 scoring run to lead 51-36.

After Kaskaskia cut the VU lead back down to nine, the Blazers would later answer with eight unanswered to take a 66-48 lead.

The Blazers then looked to take some air out of the ball and keep the clock moving and were able to keep the defensive pressure to not allow the Blue Devils a late comeback.

VU scored the final two buckets of the game to finish out the 72-52 victory over Kaskaskia College, VU’s 20th win of the season.

Vincennes allowed just 20 points in the second half Wednesday night and only allowed five second half field goals against the Blue Devils.

“It was a combination of both ends of the floor in that second half,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “We were more methodical with the ball in the second half and didn’t get the turnovers. We moved the ball and swung it. Then they start to break down inside and they get in foul trouble. They get tired of trying to fight that thing. Then we did a better job of moving it and getting sealed inside.”

“