No. 23 Trailblazers pick up statement win in Top-25 showdown at McDonald’s Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 23 Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out a very tough weekend schedule Saturday night on the final day of the McDonald’s Classic at the P.E. Complex, picking up a big 81-57 win over No. 16-ranked Northeast Mississippi.

The No. 23 Trailblazers grabbed control of the game early in this NJCAA Top-25 matchup, using a quick 11-0 run to take an early 13-5 lead.

Vincennes would expand their lead to 20-8 midway through the first half as the Tigers looked to chip away at the deficit heading into the half but could only cut the margin to 10.

VU headed into the locker room at the break with a 34-24 lead, aided by an impressive 11-point, five-rebound performance off the bench by freshman Kris King (Washington, D.C.).

Vincennes would cruise to start the second half, growing their lead to 20 before Northeast Mississippi would get back to within 14.

VU helped put the game away late in the second half with an 8-0 scoring run as Vincennes ended the night with an 81-57 win to improve to 6-0 on the season.

“I thought we were really good defensively early,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “I thought we had good ball movement. We were better offensively. We were sharper early in the game and got up 20-8. Defensively we were solid and on the spot. That was really the story of the game. Then it got a little chippy later and I thought our guys handled that well. Northeast Mississippi is going to get physical and they should and they did. We’re learning through it. There were some spots where we didn’t play quite as well in that but overall, we were fine.”

“We kept the game at double figures at the half,” Franklin added. “Kept the game in double figures throughout the second half. When we got up to 20, I thought we exhaled just a hair and let them grind us and get to the basket and they cut it to 14. Then we regrouped and pushed them back out.”

“This is a really good win for right now in the year for us,” Franklin said. “Obviously we are still a new team trying to figure it all out. We’ve played six games in 12 days and we’ve played four teams that very well could beat you. We’ve played Kankakee, Columbia State, Macomb last night, who I thought was sharp and ready for that game and got worn down as the game went on. Then today we were playing a team that has been ranked for the last two or three years, is ranked again and has a lot of talent and ability.”

“Our guys should be proud of their effort,” Franklin added. “There are always going to be ups and downs. There are ups and downs even if you are a veteran who has gone through everything. We are going to get a little up and down right now. Just like last night, the King twins last night were not nearly as good as they are as players. But I thought both of them bounced back and were very good tonight. We’ve got to make sure that the valleys are not quite as deep and we make sure we stay closer to the peaks. But that’s all part of it, especially when you are not playing ‘gimme’ games, which we are not. It’s hard to be on all the time, especially when we don’t have a whole lot of practice time right now.”

“We’ve got a new team, then we start playing all of these games and even when we do have practice how hard can you go because you are still trying to recover from the game you just played,” Franklin said. “We probably need a little practice time but we are not going to get a ton. We’ll get tomorrow off. Monday needs to be a really good practice. That’s when we have time and we need to get sharpened up. But I’m proud of them. We are going to keep pushing them, that’s what we do. We are going to keep demanding of them. That’s what we have always done and will continue to do. But I think this is a good group. I think they are good guys and good people and I think they have potential to be a really good team. I think everybody on our team has the potential to be a good player. Some days it will be one, some days it will be another, but we will always play the guys that we think give us the best chance to win. We’ve had some guys emerge early. But you never know what it will be next week.”

The Trailblazers were led off the bench by Kris King who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists.