VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 23 Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out a very tough weekend schedule Saturday night on the final day of the McDonald's Classic at the P.E. Complex, picking up a big 81-57 win over No. 16-ranked Northeast Mississippi.
The No. 23 Trailblazers grabbed control of the game early in this NJCAA Top-25 matchup, using a quick 11-0 run to take an early 13-5 lead.
Vincennes would expand their lead to 20-8 midway through the first half as the Tigers looked to chip away at the deficit heading into the half but could only cut the margin to 10.
VU headed into the locker room at the break with a 34-24 lead, aided by an impressive 11-point, five-rebound performance off the bench by freshman Kris King (Washington, D.C.).
Vincennes would cruise to start the second half, growing their lead to 20 before Northeast Mississippi would get back to within 14.
VU helped put the game away late in the second half with an 8-0 scoring run as Vincennes ended the night with an 81-57 win to improve to 6-0 on the season.
"I thought we were really good defensively early," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "I thought we had good ball movement. We were better offensively. We were sharper early in the game and got up 20-8. Defensively we were solid and on the spot. That was really the story of the game. Then it got a little chippy later and I thought our guys handled that well. Northeast Mississippi is going to get physical and they should and they did. We're learning through it. There were some spots where we didn't play quite as well in that but overall, we were fine."
"We kept the game at double figures at the half," Franklin added. "Kept the game in double figures throughout the second half. When we got up to 20, I thought we exhaled just a hair and let them grind us and get to the basket and they cut it to 14. Then we regrouped and pushed them back out."
"This is a really good win for right now in the year for us," Franklin said. "Obviously we are still a new team trying to figure it all out. We've played six games in 12 days and we've played four teams that very well could beat you. We've played Kankakee, Columbia State, Macomb last night, who I thought was sharp and ready for that game and got worn down as the game went on. Then today we were playing a team that has been ranked for the last two or three years, is ranked again and has a lot of talent and ability."
"Our guys should be proud of their effort," Franklin added. "There are always going to be ups and downs. There are ups and downs even if you are a veteran who has gone through everything. We are going to get a little up and down right now. Just like last night, the King twins last night were not nearly as good as they are as players. But I thought both of them bounced back and were very good tonight. We've got to make sure that the valleys are not quite as deep and we make sure we stay closer to the peaks. But that's all part of it, especially when you are not playing 'gimme' games, which we are not. It's hard to be on all the time, especially when we don't have a whole lot of practice time right now."
"We've got a new team, then we start playing all of these games and even when we do have practice how hard can you go because you are still trying to recover from the game you just played," Franklin said. "We probably need a little practice time but we are not going to get a ton. We'll get tomorrow off. Monday needs to be a really good practice. That's when we have time and we need to get sharpened up. But I'm proud of them. We are going to keep pushing them, that's what we do. We are going to keep demanding of them. That's what we have always done and will continue to do. But I think this is a good group. I think they are good guys and good people and I think they have potential to be a really good team. I think everybody on our team has the potential to be a good player. Some days it will be one, some days it will be another, but we will always play the guys that we think give us the best chance to win. We've had some guys emerge early. But you never know what it will be next week."
The Trailblazers were led off the bench by Kris King who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists.
Freshman Kale Gaither (Madisonville, Ky.) ended his night with 14 points, a team-high six assists and four rebounds.
Sophomore Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while fellow sophomore Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) rounded out the VU scorers in double figures with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) made his presence felt in the paint all night on his way to a near double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds. Osei-Bonsu would also finish with a pair of steals and blocks.
Sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) came off the bench to add nine points and four rebounds.
"I thought this was a very good team win," Franklin said. "It's a good team win because I thought that everybody who played contributed. I thought everybody was pretty good tonight. I wouldn't say that anybody was off that played significant minutes for us. Kris and Kent had a good bounce back from a night that wasn't their best and they did. That's a real sign of strength and maturity. So, we'll move on from there. This is just a good learning experience for them. They were key and integral in winning tonight and they will probably be key and integral to our season. They are both good players who could get better, like all of these guys."
"I thought Shilo and Michael gave us presence," Franklin added. "I thought Michael was outstanding early defensively against Stephenson. He moved his feet well enough to stay in front of him. Stephenson couldn't go through him and bully him like he likes to do. I thought that was key because I think they wanted to go to Stephenson pretty hard and Michael wasn't having it. Those things, I don't know if the casual fan knows how important that is when you've got a guy like Stephenson who can really go off and they wanted him too, he just wasn't able to do that at all. Very proud of him from that area. I thought they all were good. I'm proud of them and hopefully it will continue on."
The Trailblazers will look to keep the winning streak going next week when Vincennes hosts NJCAA Division II No. 7-ranked Henry Ford Community College Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. eastern.
"I just want to play good ball," Franklin said. "I just want to play good ball, that's all. Just improve and get as much better as we can every day and play good ball."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (81): Tasos Cook 4-11 4-5 12, Kale Gaither 4-9 4-7 14, Ryan Oliver 1-7 2-2 4, Michael Osei-Bonsu 4-8 1-7 9, Shilo Jackson 5-7 3-3 13, James Locke IV 0-2 0-0 0, Kris King 6-11 2-3 16, Kent King 2-3 0-0 4, Caleb Johnson 4-10 0-0 9, Victor Lado 0-0 0-0 0, Team 30-68 16-27 81.
Northeast Mississippi – 24 33 – 57
VU (6-0) – 34 47 – 81
Three-point goals: VU 5 (Gaither 2, Kr. King 2, C. Johnson). Rebounds: VU 51 (Osei-Bonsu 14). Assists: VU 17 (Gaither 6). Steals: VU 6 (Osei-Bonsu 2, Kr. King 2). Blocked shots: VU 4 (Osei-Bonsu 2). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 19. Fouled out: None.
