VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 4-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers hit the home floor for the first time in 2024, facing a tough Region 24 test in defending NJCAA Division I National Champion John A. Logan College.
The Trailblazers built up an early first half lead, the Volunteers battled back in the second half before the Blazers ultimately pulled away late to pick up the 87-80 victory over John A. Logan.
VU got off to a good start offensively Saturday afternoon, taking an early 16-11 lead and later using a 9-0 scoring run to take a 25-14 advantage over the Volunteers.
Logan would answer back and cut the VU lead back down to four before the Blazers answered back to build another double-digit lead at 34-23.
The VU lead would grow to 13 before heading into the locker room at the break holding a 45-33 advantage over John A. Logan.
The Volunteers picked things up to begin the second half, battling all the way back to even the score at 59-59 after a 9-0 scoring run.
Vincennes would get the momentum back in front of the home crowd and get the lead back to 74-68 before trading baskets for the rest of the game as VU closed out an 87-80 victory over the Volunteers, VU’s sixth in a row and 10th win of the season at the P.E. Complex.
“We played well in spots,†VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “I thought we should have been up more at the half but we played well in spots to be up. (John A. Logan) is a really quality team. They are really talented. They really stretch you. They put you in bad positions and every possession they make you have to fight and do a good job. I thought, in the first half, we probably did it better longer. In the second half we were giving up too many easy things. We let them have some momentum.â€
“In the second half, when they came back and evened it, I didn’t call a timeout,†Franklin added. “I told the guys on the floor that I’m not going to do it. If you all want this to happen, then go ahead. If you want to stand up, it’s time to stand up. Because everything was happening. We knew what was going on, on both ends. It just comes down to we’re not finishing plays around the basket, we were just sticking the ball into the hands of the taller guy. At the other end we were doing just enough to let the get finishes and shots and now they’re feeling good. There’s not a bunch of X’s and O’s that I’m going to do on the sideline that’s going to do. It’s time to grow up.â€
“We fought during that time and fought it off and our key players did enough to get this ‘W’,†Franklin said. “And it’s a key ‘W’ and there’s good in there. You couldn’t win this game today without having segments of good. But, as I said on the radio, are we in this to win it all, or are we just in it to win a bunch of games? The way we played today, we’ll win a bunch of games but we won’t win it all. I think we can take it to different levels but you’ve got to really want to make that sacrifice of focus. We were getting the ball right around the basket that first part of the second half constantly and next thing you know, the game’s tied.â€
“But that’s where we are,†Franklin added. “We’re good. Obviously, with who we’ve played, you can’t fake it. We’re 16-1 with who we’ve played and what we’ve done and even winning this game today, you have to be good. We basically led from start to finish today, even though it went back and forth. We would get up, but we could never extend it. We kept getting up by 12 or 13 and then we wanted to let up and then they come back. So the tale of this game, you can watch it just knowing that. We would get up by 12 or 13 and then they are going to fight you because they know they are about to be too far out. Another push and you’re up 17 or 18 and this thing’s over and they know it so they are going to push back and at that moment, we are relaxing and we did it all game.â€
“Then in the second half they started to get excited and we kind of fed into that and instead of them only cutting to four or six, they got back to even,†Franklin said. “So we are going to have to push ourselves all the time and if we can find a way to keep pushing those gears and get more intensity longer, then we have a chance. If we don’t, then we’ll just be a team that wins a bunch of games.â€
The Trailblazers were led offensively by freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) who ended with 27 points and six rebounds and was a perfect 16 of 16 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) finished off his third straight game of 20 or more points, finishing with 20 points, a team-high four assists and three rebounds.
Sophomore Kent King (Washington, D.C.) came off the bench to score in double figures, ending his day with 13 points and a team-high three steals.
Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) picked up his sixth double-double of the season and 12th of his VU career, ending with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky.) entered the starting lineup for the first time in his Trailblazer career and came away with six points and three rebounds.
“Our guys made plays but even the guys that made plays, there were times when they would wan defensively,†Franklin said. “Even those guys how had big games, but they made enough plays. You have to have guys that are going to make plays if you are going to win a game like this and obviously Lebron and Kris made the most plays.â€
“Michael had his deals and he would have had huge things that we wouldn’t have won without,†Franklin added. “But then he’s also leaving some things out there at the foul line. He’s got to get in here because he’s not being rewarded properly and we need that to get better. It was better early in the year and then I think he’s probably lost his focus. He got better early because he’s in here working a little bit harder, so he better pick it back up because those are big things in that second half when it was swinging.â€
“We got quality play and we were right there point blank, we’ve got to get focused on the things that we do every day,†Franklin said. “How to protect that ball with our body, shield it and then go up and score. Every time we did it right, we finished. Every time we decided just to stick it into somebody because we’ve got to focus a little bit more to do it right, well they’re too big and too long and that’s going to be the case somewhere along the way when you want to win a National Championship.â€
“We haven’t lied to them about that,†Franklin added. “Guys that want to go in there and rebound with one hand. Well, you don’t get it. If you’re in our practices, you know we preach it. There were a lot of guys that did a lot of good things and that’s the only reason we won. But again, we’re setting that bar and if they don’t want to set that bar that way, that’s cool. We’ll win 27 or 28 games and still probably go to Hutch and possibly win a game or two. But if we’re going to win it all, it was on display today. You can see it. You could see ‘well maybe they could’ and then you could see where they’re going to fall short. I’m going to be the bad guy and I’m going to keep pushing because I know when they are 25 or 30 like Chris Darrington who was here today, he told them in the locker room, ‘you are going to want those one plays back’.â€
“’You are going to want that one stop back. You are going to want that one time that you beat that screen and then relaxed back. You are going to want another chance to hit that free throw when we need it to happen. You are going to want it and you don’t know when that one plays is, it’s a collection. You don’t know how many of those you can give away.’ That’s from a guy that was probably one play away from winning a National Championship,†Franklin said. “We lost in the Elite Eight. Played a great game against the No. 1 team, which was a great team and they hit a 35-footer on us. It’s not that one play. It could be one from anywhere during the course of that game and as he said in the locker room, ‘I think about it all the time’. That’s what I’m trying to get them to so they don’t have to think about that for the rest of their life. They are either going to win it all or they are going to know that they put everything had in it and wherever we get is as good as we could possibly do. That’s my goal because I know sometimes right now it feels like a pain in the backside, but that’s nothing compared to having that regret for the rest of your life. When you play at our place and in this situation, the great thing is that you are going to be playing for the highest of stakes. The bad thing is, it’s a thin line when the stakes are that high and you live with it forever.â€
“That’s what we’re pushing and that’s why today, it’s a great win, a lot of great plays made, a lot of exciting things out there,†Franklin said. “I’m sure it was a great game to watch. Should be, it was two really good basketball teams, really talented going after it and wanting a win. But we’ve got to take it up some notches from here if we want to win it all.â€
The Trailblazers will be back on the road next week when the Blazers first travel to Belleville, Ill. to face-off against Southwestern Illinois College, Wednesday, Jan. 17. Tip-off time for that game is set for 8 p.m. eastern.
VU will then close out the week Saturday, Jan. 20 when the Blazers head to Olney, Ill. to take on Olney Central College. Tip-off time for that game is 8 p.m. eastern.
“It’s going to be a grind at SWIC,†Franklin said. “We’re going to come back and get after it on Monday, we’re going to be off tomorrow. I just told the guys to get your minds right. Be smart between now and then and decide, you know after playing this game today the type of grind you have to take to get the next. They could feel it today when it’s successful and when it’s not. This is a good barometer this time of year.â€
“Now we’re going into another game where you know it’s going to be a grind,†Franklin added. “They are going to grind. They are going to screen you. They are going to bump and foul. They are going to have a good idea of how to compete against you. They are going to make everything they can tough. Coach Harrington is going to do a great job of getting that to happen. You know they are going to be excited about us being in there. So I think it’s a very good game to test us and see how we will respond after this one.â€
“Do we feel like alright, we got it and that’s good,†Franklin said. “But we’ve got to cinch it up a little bit more and do we take that into the next game or do we relax because we beat Logan in here today and we’re in first place, then you are going to really have a problem on Wednesday night. So, it’s probably a really good opponent to go see.â€
