No. 6 Trailblazers tip-off season with wire-to-wire win at Kiwanis Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s basketball team started off the 2023-24 season Friday night at the Physical Education Complex as the No. 6-ranked team in the country and more than lived up to that billing after defeating Schoolcraft College 86-45.

The Blazers set the tone early in the season opener, scoring the first seven points of the game and quickly building a 23-9 lead midway through the first half.

Vincennes would continue to build on this big lead with an 11-0 scoring run to take a 36-13 advantage, before adding on more before the end of the first half to head into the locker room holding a 42-17 lead over the visiting Ocelots.

VU’s first half was fueled by an explosive Trailblazer debut by redshirt freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) who scored the first five points of the game and finished the first 20 minutes of play with 13 points.

VU looked to continue this run in the second half and used an 11-1 scoring run to lead Schoolcraft 55-20.

Schoolcraft looked for answers down the stretch but were unable to cut into the VU lead as Vincennes closed out the game on a 10-2 scoring run to pick up the season opener victory 86-45.

“I thought tonight was good for the first game,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “There were ups and downs and just learning how to play hard enough and to be low enough. I’ll keep harping on that because that’s such an important thing on both ends of the floor and I think that all of us can learn that.”

“I thought it was a good night,” Franklin added. “I thought Lebron played pretty good early for us. He got some things going which is key at that position and for the first night he was able to play. Eventually we will start hitting some shots from the perimeter. That hasn’t really clicked in yet but tonight it didn’t have to.”

“We had 25 assists and 14 turnovers,” Franklin said. “14 turnovers is probably a little much for tonight, but 25 assists was excellent. This time of year you could pick apart a lot of things that have got to get better and it’s all true.”

“I was not very heated tonight until the last 10 minutes of the game,” Franklin added. “I just thought we were a little stagnant and standing straight up with some sophomores that should know better and we can’t do that playing who we are going to be playing. We’ve got to get an edge to us. But again, it’s natural, but it’s also one of those things that we have to pick it up and get to that point and tomorrow will be a whole different kind of game.”

Vincennes was led offensively by four scorers reaching double-figures, including three making their VU debut Friday night.

Redshirt freshman Lebron Thomas led the Blazers with a game-high 18 points, to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) came away with 11 points on the night, while leading the Trailblazers with six assists and zero turnovers.

Freshman Damarien Yates (Somerville, Tenn.), better known as ‘Dink’, made a big impact off the bench in his first collegiate game, just missing out on a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Alphonse Muteba (Montreal, Quebec) also scored in double-figures in his first game with the Blue and Gold, coming off the bench to add 10 points and five rebounds.

Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) just missed out on a double-double of his own, scoring eight points and leading the Blazers with 12 rebounds.

Sophomore Karyiek Dixon (Enfield, London, UK) also had a big night in the post, finishing with seven points and six rebounds.

“I thought Dink was pretty good,” Franklin said. “There are going to be some freshman things but I thought he was pretty good. I think Dink’s got a chance. He’s learning and he’s been put behind a little bit because of an injury that kept him out all throughout the summer and early part of the school year. He’s really only been on the floor for about a month after being off for that long, which for a freshman is hard. He’s catching up.”

“Alphonse, same kind of thing,” Franklin added. “He wasn’t here during the summer but I think both he and Dink have a lot of ability. I think both of those guys could be really good players. I think you can see that, but they have got a million things to learn and master and as they do, they will only get better. But they are also going to see better and better competition. Things they got tonight might not come to them the same way tomorrow. But I’m impressed with both of them. I think both of them could be good players, it’s just how bad do they want to work and how much do they want to listen and that’s true for a lot of guys.”

“Gerard is in that same group,” Franklin said. “He has the ability to get some things done. But one of the things we’ve talked about is the fire. We need more fire from the sophomores. We’ve been challenging them. They didn’t have to do that last year and for some of them it’s not in their nature but we are pushing to get it. I’m not going to be okay with blank faces. I’m not going to be okay with shoulder shrugs or hands to the side or not being the first one to get down into a stance. So you are going to see me get a little fiery on those things and you can know why.”

“We could be a good team,” Franklin added. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We are going to have to really improve in a lot of areas and improve individually. But those are things that can be done. How much each individual improves is really, at the end of the day, what makes all the difference. How much more comfortable do these sophomores get in being sophomores. How much more comfortable does Lebron get to being on the floor after being out for so long. That’s what’s going to tell the tale of our season. It won’t be something magical in the x’s and o’s, those will be the things that will give us a chance, but it’s going to be as they improve, then it’s going to be easy for me to put them into the right spots. We’ve got a chance, we’ve just got to race the clock every day to get better.”

The Trailblazers will look to keep this early success going tomorrow night when VU hosts Columbia State Community College from Columbia, Tenn. in the final game of the 2023 Kiwanis Classic. Tip-off time for the Trailblazers is set for 7 p.m. eastern.

Other results from day one of the 2023 Kiwanis Classic include Shawnee Community College winning over Columbia State C.C. 69-63.

“The biggest thing is keeping it really simple, be low, be strong and sprint harder,” Franklin said. “Get your eyes up to see the floor better, have vision, talk and communicate better. That’s it. The x’s and o’s will take care of itself. But will you get down in a stance better. Will you get lower, tougher, stronger with the ball when they are trying to pressure you. Will you run that floor harder. Will you be first on a box out. That’s what I’m concerned about right now.”

“I’ve been in this game a long time, those are the things that matter,” Franklin added. “So when you see me pushing buttons or getting after it, that’s what it is and when we don’t get the real response, then we’ve got to push a little. Because we’ve got to set a different tone than what’s natural.”

“It’s not natural to be in that defensive stance for two hours,” Franklin said. “It’s not natural to run that floor hard every time. It’s not natural to be that low, strong, tough every time you catch the ball. But that’s what we have to be if we are going to get where we want to go.”

“That’s what I will look for tomorrow,” Franklin added. “Can we do those things and can we do them better. Can we take another step forward tomorrow and we will have to to have success. But tonight was a good starting point. It was a good day to get started. We challenged some guys tonight in the last 10 minutes to step up some things and we will see if they do that tomorrow.”

“Nobody needs to be comfortable,” Franklin said. “It’s all earned time here. So guys in the lineup tonight may not be in the lineup tomorrow and if I was one of those inside guys I’d be pushing. It looks like Dink might push you. Alphonse might push you. They might want to be on that floor. We’ll find a perimeter guy. Does Gerard really want to push to get out there. Does Kent want to push to get more time. We are going to play the ones that push the hardest. That’s what we do. Comfortable is not really part of our deal. The only thing you can be comfortable in here is being uncomfortable. Once you get comfortable with being uncomfortable then things get pretty good. That’s where we are and I think we’ve got some guys that can push a little bit and I hope they do.”

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (86) – Kris King 4-8 3-3 11, Michael Osei-Bonsu 4-9 0-0 8, Karyiek Dixon 3-7 1-2 7, Ryan Oliver 2-3 3-4 7, Lebron Thomas 6-10 5-7 18, Damarien Yates 5-8 1-2 11, Gerard Thomas 0-2 0-1 0, Mathieu Nader-Kalombo 2-4 0-0 5, Alphonse Muteba 4-8 2-2 10, Kent King 3-3 1-2 9, Team 33-62 16-23 86.

Schoolcraft – 17   28 – 45

VU (1-0) – 42   44 – 86

Three-point goals: VU 4 (Ke. King 2, L. Thomas, Nader-Kalombo). Rebounds: VU 48 (Osei-Bonsu 12). Assists: VU 25 (Kr. King 6). Steals: VU 9 (Osei-Bonsu 3). Blocked Shots: VU 4 (Kr. King. Osei-Bonsu, Yates, Muteba). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 13. Fouled out: None.