Jackson’s double-double leads Trailblazers to big win over Shawnee

VINCENNES, Ind. – Fresh off a nine day break after snow and ice storms postponed all of last week’s games, the VU Trailblazers bounced back from a 20-point loss at Lincoln Trail to claim a 20-point home win over the Shawnee Saints Monday night 71-51.

VU freshman Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Trailblazers to the win.

Vincennes set the tone early, scoring the first 11 points of the game.

The Saints would eventually score, but the Trailblazers managed to hold a double-digit lead throughout most of the first half of play.

VU built their largest lead of the half on a Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind.) jumper in the paint at the buzzer as VU went into the locker room with a 39-19 advantage.

The Vincennes lead held around 20 points for most of the second half, growing to as many as 24 but never getting closer than 17.

The Trailblazers used a late 7-0 scoring run to put the game away by taking a 71-44 lead.

Shawnee would end the game with a 7-0 scoring run of their own after Coach Franklin emptied the bench, but the Trailblazers still came away with the strong 71-51 win over the Saints.

“We just executed better than we did nine days ago,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “We played with a little more intensity. I thought we played our inside-out game better. We were better in the post. We were stronger and scored when we should. We didn’t make the sloppy turnovers on our kickouts and we hit a few shots. We didn’t hit shots like crazy, but we didn’t have any turnovers on those exchanges. We swung the ball at times, which I thought that was a big key in the first half.”

“Defensively, we were good with our pressure,” Franklin added. “We turned our pressure up a little bit. We saw some areas where we thought we could get after them and maybe get some early turnovers when they weren’t ready for that and we did. I thought our zone was pretty solid most of the night. I thought at the end of the first half we got a little laxed and we managed to score a couple of buckets and get it back up to 20.”

“We were okay in the second half. We’ve got to get better than that. We have to play 40 minutes. When we’re right, right now, we’re a better basketball team now. I think there is no question we’re a much better basketball team than we were earlier. We’re still in the pile with all these teams in the Region and when we’re right, I feel like we have every chance in the world to beat these teams. We were just right more minutes tonight and our intensity was right more often but you can see when it wasn’t. We would get a little tired and lose focus and the plays would go against us.”

“The race for us these next two weeks is simple, can we get to 40 (minutes) or as close to 40 as possible. Because I like our chances when we’re playing hard, intense, focused and locked in. When we’re that, then I think we can compete with all these teams with a chance to win and if we can put 40 together then obviously we’ll have a chance to win the games.”

“That’s what we are going to have to do here in a couple of weeks at tournament time. One night at a time, three times a week, every other day. We’re just trying to find little ways to get our intensity up, get that focus up and find those edges where we can get better. I thought we had a decent week of work in practice these last nine days, but we still had to put it out there on the floor. I thought we did in spots tonight and in big enough spots to be dominant in the game, but I still think there is a lot more out there. I think we’re going to need a lot more to get the job done. I haven’t quit trying to get the job done. It’s been a tough year and things have gone on with this young bunch that we’ve gone through and battled the schedule but I haven’t given up on the idea that we can still make it to Hutch. That’s what we’re trying to do and I thought we made steps toward that tonight.”

Vincennes had all five starters score in double figures, led by freshman Shilo Jackson who finished with a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jackson would also finish with a team-high three blocks on the night.

“I think we’re a lot different when we’re playing with Shilo and Darrius than when were not,” Franklin said. Jackson and Davis were out when VU played at Shawnee earlier this season. “Take nothing away from Shawnee, we were down three with a minute to go at their place. I would have liked our chances with Shilo and Darrius but they did it to themselves. We’ve had several of those things where we’ve hurt ourselves and we’ve got to not hurt ourselves these next three weeks.”

“I thought tonight was Shilo’s best game,” Franklin added. “I’ve got to go back and watch the film. He’s had some good games. He had a stretch early in the season where he was playing really well when we weren’t. But I think this was probably his best basketball game. He was solid. Didn’t have the turnovers. He played the inside-out game well. I thought he held his post pretty well. He made some strong takes. He made a couple of alive and alert plays when the ball was loose and he was the first one to get to it and got some dunks. Those plays aren’t luck.”

“I thought he was pretty good in the zone on the back end. He provides us with that back end where even if you get through the zone you still have a problem. He can play better. I think there is a lot of ability in Shilo, but I think tonight was probably his best game. He shot a high percentage and didn’t turn it over. He kicked the ball back out when the double-team came down. I thought he was solid defensively, he blocked three shots and bothered others. We didn’t have to double in the zone and he’s a big reason for why we didn’t have to do that.”

Freshman Trenton Johnson (South Bend, Ind.) helped the Blazers build their early lead from behind the arc, hitting four threes in the game on his way to 14 points.

Brevin Jefferson finished his night with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Freshmen Thow James Biel (Calgary, Alberta) and Darrius Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each finished with 10 points, with Davis early getting a double-double of his own with eight rebounds and four assists.

This game saw the Trailblazer debut of local freshman walk-on Reece Hammelman (Bicknell, Ind.). Hammelman joined the Trailblazers in December and finally saw his first in game action of his collegiate career.

“Reece has been tremendous for our basketball team,” Franklin said. “He’s here early. He’s the first guy in the gym, last to leave. All the guys love him. He works his tail off and he makes a difference. His attitude, his work ethic and his care level has made a difference on this basketball team in the attitude and comradery of our squad.”

“I’m indebted to Reece since he’s come in and helped this basketball team,” Franklin added. “We would love to get him as much time as we can and he’s working for it. He’s fighting and working his tail off to get better in practice every day. But just his attitude and his work ethic, you can tell it has made a difference in our practices. I’m very appreciative of that. That’s not ‘coach speak’. I mean that. He has made a big difference in a positive way for our team.”

Vincennes will hit the road this Wednesday, Feb. 9 when VU travels to Carterville, Ill. to take on No. 4-ranked John A. Logan. Tip-off time for that game is set for 8 p.m. eastern.

The Trailblazers fell to the highly-ranked Volunteers in December 77-67 after VU held a nine-point halftime lead and Thow James Biel set his career-high with 26 points.

“I really don’t care about who our opponent is at all,” Franklin said. “Some people will say they do, but I don’t. It doesn’t make any difference to me. It’s all about us and are we getting better. We want to win and we want to win all these games. We certainly haven’t had enough wins this season, so we want to get them all.”

“But the biggest thing that I want to see is for us to continue the arc that we have begun,” Franklin added. “Whatever that means in the final score Wednesday so be it, but we’re in a race to get as many wins as we can. But the bigger race is to get as good as we can so we are playing our best when it’s ‘one and done’ time. We’ve got to win the Region tournament to get to Hutch, that’s just our reality and I think playing to win and winning helps you.”

“We’re playing this week just like it was tournament week. We’ve basically played the quarterfinals tonight. We’re playing the semi-finals Wednesday and we will come back and play Saturday like we are playing in the finals of the tournament when we play Lake Land. Just because that’s how we are preparing.”

“Then we get to do it similar but even more extreme next week. Where next week is more like playing at the National Tournament in terms of the way we will have to play games. So, it gives us a great opportunity to prepare our minds and bodies to how we shift from one game to the next, to what we hope will happen come tournament time. I want to see how we respond tomorrow. I want to have a great practice. I want to have guys locked in. I want the guys to get on that bus to go down and win a game Wednesday. Trust in what we do and play the heck out of it.”

“We’re telling the guys all the time right now, ‘Get your eyes up, your minds in it and your knees bent’. It’s amazing what that does for you. When you do those things it’s amazing how much better you are and that is what we preach. I’ve had a lot of success over the years preaching that. There’s obviously a lot to it than that, but sometimes when you are a player, it’s a simple as that. That’s what I want to see. I want to see five guys on the floor like that all the time and see if we can get closer to 40 minutes of that every day until tournament time and then hopefully we can put 40 minutes together three times that week.”