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."

"By the time the game was over, I thought most people had put in a pretty good effort," Franklin added. "There were spots because we are just working through things. We've got freshmen that are just working through being freshmen. We are learning, doing, but still battling the nerves of being out there. We've just got to keep getting better and I thought we got better tonight. I think these have been a good two games for us so far. It allowed us to work on things at a level high enough to give our guys a chance to improve enough. We'll see if we've improved enough to handle the mission tomorrow. Which is going to be substantial. The physicality, it's just a totally different ball game that we are going to play tomorrow night and a totally different style of game than we've played. It's going to be interesting to see how our young guys adjust and adapt. But we are going to have to get some things ironed out at shootaround tomorrow and we will have to have some guys who take on a really competitive mindset in order for us to be successful. I'm excited to see it. I'm excited to see if we do it."

Tasos Cook led the Trailblazers offensively, finishing with 20 points and three assists for Vincennes.

Freshmen Kris King (Washington, D.C.) and Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) also reached double-figures in the pairs first time in the starting lineup this season. King finished with 14 points, three rebounds and two blocks, while Johnson ended with 13 points three rebounds and two assists.

Freshman Kale Gaither (Madisonville, Ky.) came off the bench to score 12 points for VU, while also picking up five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Freshman James Locke IV (Spencer, Okla.) hit a trio of threes off the bench for the Blazers as well ending with nine points.

Freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) nearly completed a double-double off the bench Friday night, ending with eight points and seven rebounds.

"We got everybody into the game," Franklin said. "We had 13 active tonight. We got to play Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky.) and I thought he did a good job tonight when he was in there. He got a couple of buckets and some rebounds. Hopefully he will loosen up because all of these guys may be extremely valuable. We don't know how this thing is going to work out. But who's playing when, what's the pecking order, who knows what that is going to look like in a month. Right now, we are trying to figure it out."

"I thought Trenton Johnson (South Bend, Ind.) had a better game tonight," Franklin added. "I think he has had a better last two or three weeks. Hopefully he is getting comfortable. That's always been his thing. He's had to fight through some things. He's a great guy and we love him and I think he can do things for us. He just has to get to a comfort level and he has looked more like that these last couple of weeks in practice, so I thought that continued for him tonight. I thought James Locke had a much better night. I thought James stepped up tonight to the physicality and we've challenged him. If he's going to play it's how it's going to be. I thought he got up and took that challenge, chested into the ball screens and got over some things and did some toughness things that we needed to see. I thought it was definitely a step forward night for James. He's a weapon that we need because of his shooting ability but he has to bring those other things to the table. Tonight he hit some shots, which is great, but he brought the other things and if he will continue to do that, then he will be valuable for us."

"Across the board, the King twins did some good things, Caleb did good things," Franklin said. "Tasos, I think, obviously was the catalyst early in the game and getting us off and going early. I thought even he, who is a little older, was more comfortable tonight than he was last game. I thought he was more comfortable last game than he was in the jamborees. That's what we want to see is just a continuation going forward. There are always going to be some little baby steps back, we hope they are not really big steps back and we are taking two steps forward every time. That's what you are going to see and tomorrow we might take some steps back at first because we are going to see something that we haven't seen yet. You are not really ready for it until you've faced it. I think the next time we face it, no matter what we do tomorrow, we'll be better. But this is the first time, so we'll see if we can learn during the game and still find a way to handle it and win."

"It's a process and unlike most of these other guys in the country, we are not going to roll out here and play JV teams," Franklin added. "Malcolm X is going to win some games this season. They are not some team that just won't beat anybody and tomorrow night we are really going to be pushed."

"But I thought everybody did a pretty good job tonight," Franklin said. "We could sit here and go back and correct, because there are always things to correct. It was a good effort, but it was a flawed effort, which is what it is going to be right now. But I am really anxious to see how we take on this fight tomorrow.  I'm anxious to see if we've got some dog in us and if we are ready to have some dog in us. I think we've got some dog in us to be able to take people on, I do, but are we ready to do it right now. I think it's in there, but is it ready to come out tomorrow and I'm anxious to watch that."

The Trailblazers will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow on the final day of the Kiwanis Classic, when VU faces a tough challenge in Columbia State Community College from Columbia, Tenn. This game tomorrow is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. eastern, with Shawnee Community College taking on Malcolm X at 5 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (106): Kris King – 6-8 0-1 14, Caleb Johnson 4-6 4-4 13, Shilo Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Tasos Cook 7-9 5-6 20, Kent King 1-2 1-2 4, Trenton Johnson 1-1 3-3 6, James Locke IV 3-6 0-0 9, Kale Gaither 4-7 4-4 12, Ryan Oliver 3-6 1-2 8, Michael Osei-Bonsu 2-6 4-6 8, Victor Lado 2-3 0-1 4, Dende Ceder 0-0 0-0 0, Karyiek Dixon 2-3 0-0 4, Team 37-60 22-29 106.

Malcolm X – 25   32 – 57

VU (2-0) – 47   59 – 106

Three-point goals: VU 10 (Locke 3, Kr. King 2, C. Johnson, Cook, Ke. King, T. Johnson, Oliver). Rebounds: VU 39 (Osei-Bonsu 7). Assists: VU 19 (Ke. King 5). Steals: VU 7 (Kr. King 2). Blocked Shots: VU 6 (Kr. King 2, Ceder 2). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 11. Fouled out: None.