Trailblazers pick up huge win on opening day of Kiwanis Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s basketball team picked up a big win Friday night at the P.E. Complex, defeating Malcolm X Community College 106-57 on the first day of the annual Kiwanis Classic.

VU got off to a quick start, grabbing an early four-point lead after sophomore guard Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) scored the first seven points for the Blazers.

Malcolm X responded back in the hostile environment to grab the lead at 15-11.

Vincennes would then take the lead back for good aided by a 13-2 scoring run.

Vincennes would use another pair of double-digit scoring runs to extend their lead to 22 points at the break, heading into the locker room holding a 47-25 advantage.

The Trailblazers continued to build on this lead early in the second half, growing the lead to 34 points with a 14-0 run.

Malcolm X looked to battle back and cut into the deficit late, but a massive 18-0 scoring run put the Trailblazers ahead 93-46, as VU continued to add on to reach the final margin of 106-57.

“I thought we let them be the aggressor a little bit early,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “Then Tasos got a little more aggressive going downhill. We stopped letting them play us and we started playing them. Really, once that happened, things turned.”

“I thought Malcolm X came out and played really well early,” Franklin added. “I thought our team kind of took them out of things, more than they were just not able to play. I didn’t think they were bad. The final score might indicate something different, but I think that was more indicative of how we played tonight. Then there is a point where they get broken because they are so far down and we can keep bringing in waves of guys to come at you.”

“But I thought Malcolm X gave us some good resistance early,” Franklin said. “I thought our guys had to take that and then fight it. But overall, I thought most guys played pretty well. We are going to have to play better tomorrow night. Tomorrow night is going to be an extremely physical game and it’s something that this young team has not been through. So, it will be very interesting to see how we handle that. How we handle that will probably determine the outcome.”

“Tonight, was similar to what we had to defend when we played Tuesday, in concept and I thought our guys did okay,” Franklin added. “We got better at handling the ball screen. We finally get some guys that are better at using their hands and pressing those ball screens and beat it instead of letting them play you. That’s just something they are not used to. It’s a whole different thing at this level. When we do it, we’re not bad. But we are going to have to be better than not bad tomorrow night.”

“I thought it was a good effort,” Franklin said. “It’s up and down and we are learning. We are a long way away from where we need to be, but we were able to cut our turnovers down tonight. We had 14 on the game, got a couple late. I thought we probably handled the ball better in the second half until the very end.”