VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes freshmen Darrius Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) each recorded double-doubles in the Trailblazers regular season finale Thursday night with Davis ending with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Jackson's 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Trailblazers fell 77-68 to the NJCAA Division II No. 15-ranked Henry Ford Hawks despite the two double-doubles.
Henry Ford set the tone early, hitting early and often from long-range. The Hawks quickly built a 10-point lead at 17-7.
Vincennes battled back to cut the deficit to one point at 26-25, before the Hawks used a 16-2 scoring run to build their largest lead of the half at 42-27.
Vincennes answered back to close out the first half with a 10-2 scoring run of their own, but Henry Ford still led 44-37 at the break.
The Hawks built their lead from behind the three-point line, hitting 13 three's in the first half and shooting 54-percent in the opening period.
The Blazers continued to battle in the second half and cut the lead down to two points early in the final period of play.
The Henry Ford lead stayed within one to three possessions for most of the second half, with the Blazers getting several chances to tie or take the lead.
The opportunities never came through as the Hawks finished the game at the free throw line to close out the 77-68 win over the Blazers.
"We just didn't get over the hump tonight," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "I think it was there. I think we had a pretty good idea of what each individual guy was going to try to do. They had one guard that went left almost every time and they had one guard that goes right. When we sat on that and defended it correctly we were able to get stops. Once we got settled in, we had it to a two-point game several times with opportunities and we didn't hunker down enough to defend it."
"I'd like to say it was something else, but it really wasn't," Franklin added. "During the 'winning' part of the game tonight, we knew and I knew. I let them know before the game but they had three three's on that in the first half. In the second half it just comes down to locking down individually. They weren't running any actions that got us tonight and I didn't think they were impossible to guard. But we got beat back door, we got beat sprinting down the floor. Their guy went at a winning speed and we went at a 'I'm trying, Coach' speed."
"I've had this look from our guy all year of 'I'm trying Coach' but we're not going at that winning speed or with winning intensity and that was on display down the stretch of the game tonight. The game was there, but we had to go at winning speed and we were only giving 'I'm trying Coach'. For that, I'm labeled as negative. I'm trying to rectify it. I don't know if that's considered negative, but I'm trying to get it changed. I don't know what else to do when they look at me and say that's the best they can give, when I don't think it is. But maybe it is and if it is then we're going to lose."
"That's what it comes down to. I think offensively we were able to get pretty much what we wanted. Either in the post or on inside-outs. When we come off of screens, if we turned the corner hard I thought we could get some advantages. I thought on our inbounds plays if we just ran them hard we could get things. We weren't turning the ball over except for when we would let them come and take it from us during two or three key times and they were able to get points off of it. But at the end of the game, I told our guys that we scored 68 points against a team that was allowing you to and we are at the end of the year and they were looking at me like I'm asking too much."
"Scoring 68 points tonight was not enough. We should have scored more. The opportunity to score more points was there and they really couldn't guard us in the post, we guarded ourselves when we got stopped. That's not a knock on Henry Ford, I think they've got a good team, but it's the standard. These guys look at me like my standard is too high. But the standards that they want to go at won't get it done. I think they have more in them but they have to click in with some tenacity. That's just where it is. I don't know if it's positive, negative or whatever but tonight's game strictly came down to that."
"They look at me with the 'I'm trying Coach' look but there needs to be an 'I'm fighting to win Coach' look. That's where the frustration comes in. Are they trying? Yeah, I think they are trying. But are they going at a gear of, 'I've got to get it done, I'm going to win right here'? No, I don't think we've ever crossed that threshold and we have crossed that threshold forever here. But tonight, against a good team, Henry Ford is a good team and they shot the leather off the ball in the first half. But we had an opportunity to go into the locked-in 'I'm going to win' mode and they just looked at me like 'what am I supposed to do' and that's not the right reaction. I've been saying that for 30 games and I've been saying that since the first practices and we are right there. Like tonight, if we fight through and win, it would be a solid win against a good team that shot it really well. I thought it was the same thing at Wabash last week and the same thing against Olney in here Saturday. I just try to get them to give a determined, locked-in, competing to win type of vibe and they want to look at me like that's too much. I don't usually try to ask for something that I know they can't do. But that's when it becomes a problem. I'm asking them to do something I really think they can do, but I'm not sure that they do."
The Blazers were led offensively by freshman Thow James Biel (Calgary, Alberta) who came off the bench to add 17 points and seven rebounds.
Darrius Davis recorded his third double-double of the season with a 15-point, 14 rebound outing. Davis got after it early and had 10 points and 10 rebounds at halftime for VU.
Shilo Jackson finished off his 15th double-double on the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Ketaan Wyatt (Toledo, Ohio) finished his night with nine points, while also adding three rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind.) distributed the ball well from the point guard position, ending with a team-high eight assists.
"I thought that Thow played harder tonight," Franklin said. "I thought he was more competitive. There were still some mental breakdowns and some shots that he just has to get in here until he can make. We got him about three wide open looks and we need him to bust one or two of those. He's trying but he needs to try every day in this gym, so when it's gametime you are going to nail at least one or two of those. Because those were really quality looks. But he was trying. He gave an effort tonight."
"I thought Darrius gave us an effort for a while," Franklin added. "But then we put him on a defensive assignment and he just gives me one of those looks like 'I'm not going to do it'. But it was just that look and that shrug and I can't tolerate that anymore. I thought before that he was trying."
"I thought Ketaan tried. He gave an effort, he just has freshman skills in the weaponry of what he needs to get it done. But I thought he was trying to get it done. Shilo, maybe we're asking too much of him. He could have scored all night in the post against that kid. Henry Ford's guy just stood there with his hands up trying not to foul and we just can't get him to turn and score. When he did he scored. I have certain expectations for him. I can see where certain things can be done and I try to get that across to them. Sometimes they can cross that threshold and thrive and sometimes they just tell me 'that's too hard Coach'. We've been searching for someone to take it on and I think they can, but I'm not sure if they believe they can."
Vincennes will begin their postseason play at the Region 24 tournament hosted by Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill. First round game will be played on Monday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. eastern.
Semi-finals of the tournament will take place Wednesday, March 2, with the Finals taking place Friday, March 4. All games will be played at Rend Lake College.
"We've come a ways since the start of the year,' Franklin said. "We are a better basketball team than we were. We played a good team tonight. We've played good teams down the stretch of the season and we've won some and we've lost some. We've been in a position to win most all of them and every game is highly competitive games that we have a chance to win against quality teams."
"That's what it will be next week," Franklin added. "We'll play quality teams, but I don't think we'll play a great team. I don't think there is a great team there that we have to beat. I think everybody is quality and I think we can get to the quality level to beat them. But at some point you have to go at the 'I'm winning' speed instead of the 'I'm trying'. Maybe all they can give me is 'I'm trying' but I think there is another gear in there that we've always been able to get guys to go to and we just haven't yet this season."
"I think that just comes down the expectations. What do you expect from yourself? Because I expect that they can do it. I know what their physical limitations are, so we try not to ask them past that, but they just keep telling me, 'Coach, that's too much'. Unfortunately, what they tell me is too much, is below the level of winning. We can get right up to it, but we just won't go into that next gear to get over it. I think they are trying but that determination to win and the determination to lock into the job is what we have missed. Even when we've gotten to the point where we can be here against anybody. We can compete against anybody, from Logan on down, it doesn't make any difference. We have a chance to compete. That's where it is and that's where it will be next week. They get one last chance to cross that threshold and we'll see if they do it."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (68): Shilo Jackson 4-10 5-6 13, Ketaan Wyatt 3-10 3-4 9, Devawn White 3-3 0-0 6, Brevin Jefferson 0-7 1-2 1, Darrius Davis 7-11 0-0 15, Thow James Biel 6-16 3-4 17, Trenton Johnson 3-9 0-0 7, Deatrick Pashell 0-2 0-0 0, Team 26-68 12-16 68.
Henry Ford – 44 33 – 77
VU (12-18, 9-9) – 37 31 – 68
Three-point goals: VU 4 (James Biel 2, Davis, Johnson). Rebounds: VU 45 (Davis 14). Assists: VU 15 (Jefferson 8). Steals: VU 3 (Jackson, Jefferson, Pashell). Blocked shots: VU 3 (Jackson, Jefferson, James Biel). Turnovers: VU 9. Personal Fouls: VU 21. Fouled out: Jefferson, Wyatt.
