No. 8 Blazers use big second half to pick up Region 24 win over Lincoln Trail

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers slid five spots in this week's NJCAA Division I National Rankings after falling at Olney Central Saturday night to No. 8 this week.

The Trailblazers got their first opportunity to bounce back and hopefully resume their climb up the polls Wednesday night against Region 24 rival Lincoln Trail College from Robinson, Ill.

After a slow start the Blazers rode a big 54-point second half to pull away late to claim the 88-55 victory over the Statesmen.

VU looked to be on the right track heading towards a bounce back victory early on Wednesday night, before Lincoln Trail came out with a 12-2 scoring run to take a 17-10 lead midway through the opening half of play.

The Statesmen lead held at 19-12 before VU battled back with an 11-2 scoring run of their own to take a 23-21 lead, a lead they would not surrender for the rest of the night.

VU closed out the opening half of play strong with another 11-2 scoring run to take a 34-25 lead into the locker room break.

The Vincennes lead only continued to grow in the second half, using a 12-2 scoring run to take a 59-34 lead midway through the second half.

The Blazers would look to put the game away late with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 76-45 lead and ended the game by scoring the final six points to close out a strong 88-55 victory over the Statesmen.

"We picked up the intensity with about 11 or 12 minutes to go in the first half," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "Defensively we picked it up. We sent Ryan into the game. Ryan hit a couple of shots on the inside-out because we could get them any time we wanted because they were really collapsing on us. He hit a couple and really got us going on the offensive end. Then we picked up the intensity defensively and really, they didn't score very many points from that point on."

"It still took us a little while to get a rhythm," Franklin added. "In the second half I thought we played with more of a balance and a rhythm and you look at the stats sheet and it reflected it. But one thing throughout the game, even when we were missing shots, we only ended up with four turnovers. I thought we threw up some bad shots, one-legged and stuck the ball in so they could block our shot. I don't know why we like doing that, but we seem to enjoy it. But we didn't turn it over and it's amazing when you don't turn it over and we're pretty good at getting on the offensive glass, we end up with 23 of those. If we don't turn it over and we actually move the ball and then we get up a shot, we've got a really good chance of getting up another one."

"I know those are simple things but they are important things," Franklin said. "Four turnovers gave us a chance when we were sputtering a little bit. Our offensive rebounding gave us a chance when we were sputtering a little bit. Then as the game wore on, we started to get a more solid base on our shots and got settled in. Hopefully we can grow from that and keep doing it."

The Trailblazers were led offensively by sophomore Kris King who found his shooting stroke early, connecting on a pair of first half threes and recording 12 of his game-high 19 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Sophomore Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) returned to the VU floor after missing the past two games and immediately made an impact, finishing with 18 points, including four threes, seven rebounds and five assists.

Sophomore Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and 17th time this season, ending with 13 points and five assists.

Sophomore Karyiek Dixon (Enfield, London, UK) returned to the VU starting lineup and finished his night with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) came off the bench to record another double-double, his eighth of the season and 14th of his VU career with 10 points and 10 rebounds, including eight big offensive rebounds.

Freshman Damarien Yates (Somerville, Tenn.) had a good night on the defensive end of the floor, recording four rebounds, all defensive rebounds and a team-high three steals to go along with seven points on the offensive end.

"I thought early Lebron was scuffling and struggling," Franklin said. "They were just going to plug the gaps, well that's alright, you've got to move the ball and swing it. We're designed for that. He forced some things and got a little out of kilter and then once he got in kilter, he was much better. I thought he had some decent things as the night wore on."

"I thought Dink had some nice things tonight," Franklin added. "Things that other people might not think is a big deal. He had a couple of good box outs. As a rebounder, he's been a guy that chases the ball. He did that in high school. But as some of the fundamentals of shielding guys off and boxing out, especially on the defensive glass, he's got to get better. Tonight, I thought he did a better job and that was big. He cleaned up and got a stop where in the past he might of given up an offensive rebound a couple of times. He did a good job, didn't turn the ball over. He was fairly patient with what he was doing tonight and that version of Dink, if he stays that way and works that way every day, we can play him and then he'll grow and get better over the next month and a half. We've just got to get him in that mindset all of the time. We've been talking about that. So I was proud of him for that. He ended up shooting two for six, so it wasn't the biggest deal there, but I just thought he played more solid basketball. As long as he does that, he's got enough ability he'll start to help us."

"Karyiek had some good moments," Franklin said. "He got on the offensive glass some early in the second half and made some solid plays. There's just sometimes where Karyiek will watch. It's just about keeping him live and active and not getting that blank face. When he's got that blank face thing, he's not very good. When he's got some fire going, he can be pretty good. It's really a big drop from what he can be when he's all into it to when he's off. When he was on tonight, he was really helping us."

"I thought we were fairly good defensively across the board," Franklin added. "Ryan did a really good job chasing Huttenlocker and pretty well took him out. He got some buckets in the second half, but he had no consistency of being able to get anything all night and that was mostly Ryan."

The Trailblazers will look to close out the week strong Saturday, Jan. 27, when VU hosts another local Region 24 rival, Wabash Valley College from Mt. Carmel, Ill. in the Physical Education Complex. Tip-off time for that game is set for 7 p.m. eastern.

"There's a million things that you can take from tonight," Franklin said. "We have a way of doing everything. Being in a stance, how we handle a ball screen, how we rebound, how we box, how we are supposed to do everything. It's just another night of guys knowing that if they do like they are supposed to, we're successful. When we don't, we're not and it really doesn't matter who we play. In this game we were down 19-12 with about 11 or 12 minutes left in the half. Well, we weren't doing the things we were supposed to."

"But what I want to take on top of that, which they know, is the ownership," Franklin added. "They have to own the success of this team. I will help them. I will tell them the right things. I will make the right choices. I'll give them the pointers and the expertise of all the things that have helped us get to Hutch all of these years. But I can't be the one pulling it out of them. I just can't. So we went through some of that tonight."

"They knew it going into the game," Franklin said. "I didn't think it was there in the first 10 minutes, well, coach isn't going to do it. It's their time. I'll be here to support them and help them but we've got six real sophomores, plus Lebron who was here last year. It's time that they took over and they took ownership. They know how we are supposed to do things. They know what we are doing. I'll direct them. But it's their time to take ownership of it. If they don't, then we'll fall short. If they do, I think we'll be alright. But it's up to them now. That's what I wanted them to take going into this game. That's what I want them to take coming out of this game and we'll see what they do with it Saturday in a big game against Wabash."

"If Wabash wins tonight, us, them and Olney will all be tied at 5-1 and will have separated from everybody else who has at least three losses," Franklin said. "It's going to be a very large game in here Saturday and they need to know that they own how well they play and I believe they own the outcome. Because I think if they play well and right and do the things that we do and they are in charge of it, then I think we can win all of the games we have left to play. But if they don't, then we won't."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (88): Kris King 5-15 6-8 19, Karyiek Dixon 5-7 1-5 11, Victor Lado 1-4 4-46, Kent King 0-5 0-0 0, Lebron Thomas 5-8 2-4 13, Damarien Yates 2-6 2-2 7, Gerard Thomas 0-4 0-0 0, Mathieu Nader-Kalombo 0-0 0-0 0, Alphonse Muteba 1-1 0-0 2, Ryan Oliver 5-12 4-5 18, Michael Osei-Bonsu 4-9 2-5 10, Vilhelm Bodingh 1-1 0-0 2, Team 29-72 21-33 88.

Lincoln Trail – 25   30   55

VU (18-2, 5-1) – 34   54 – 88

Three-point goals: VU 9 (Oliver 4, Kr. King 3, Yates, L. Thomas). Rebounds: VU 47 (Osei-Bonsu 10). Assists: VU 19 (L. Thomas 5, Oliver 5). Steals: VU 8 (Yates 3). Blocked Shots: VU 4 (Lado, L. Thomas, Yates, Osei-Bonsu). Turnovers: VU 4. Personal Fouls: VU 10. Fouled out: None.