VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 20-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers have had a very impressive start to their postseason after getting their second-consecutive wire-to-wire win Wednesday night over Shawnee, 79-49.
Vincennes brought the energy from the tip as a Randy Tucker three and a John Ukomadu dunk ignited a 9-0 scoring run to open the game for VU.
The lead would hold at nine points midway through the first half, before the Trailblazers went on a 14-3 scoring run to head into the locker room with a 39-24 advantage.
VU didn't let up in the second half either, opening the second half on a 20-8 scoring run to expand the lead to 27 with 10 minutes to play.
The Trailblazers rode this momentum and continued to match any comeback attempts by the Saints as VU closed out the 30-point win to advance to the Central District Championship game Friday night.
"We're just doing things more our way," VU Hall of Fame head coach Todd Franklin said. "That's everything. Our energy, that's more our way. Guys on the bench into it when they're not playing, more our way. Coming out of the locker room ready to go, that's more our way and we had to educate our way in a condensed time with really no veteran perimeter for sure and it's been a struggle. Because our way is hard, if it weren't then everyone would do it and we've been arguably the best in the country at doing it for the last 10 years, us and South Plains is about all you could argue I think."
"It's different, but it works and you're seeing things now where they're more our way. If we do that Friday night, then we will have a chance to play a really good basketball game against an extremely talented, good team. We can play the game well enough now to compete with anybody and we just have to do it our way. You're seeing more and more our way, that's why we're defending the way we're defending, rebounding the way we're rebounding, moving the ball better, getting shots, it's everything coming together. It's taken a little bit of time for it to get where it normally is for us."
"Even now I've had guys who were main players when we've won championships, we really don't have anybody on this team that was really on the floor. It's been 8-10 year where there's somebody back who knew what we were saying was the right way and they knew what it felt like, but we're going to see if these guys can experience being a champion Friday night. But what they have experienced is playing really good ball here for a while and playing well enough that I really believe there's no question I believe we should be in the big dance."
Vincennes was led offensively by Justin Archer, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five blocks on the night.
Sophomore Randy Tucker got the Blazer offense rolling early on his way to 15 points on just eight shots, while also grabbing five rebounds.
"For Randy, it was more VU. He's been here three years, how's a VU guy going to act right now. How's he going to attack that shot, how's he going to attack a play. What does he bring to the table, you've been here, you've seen it and I think that's what he brought," Franklin added. "Monday night, I love Randy, he's a great guy, but he didn't bring that. Tonight, he did and you see the difference in result and usually it works out that way. So hopefully he can take that and now that's what he's going to bring."
"Same thing with Archer, he's having to learn what real intensity is and at times he'll wane, but when he's on it he can get a lot done. It's just constant training of what it really takes and we're racing the clock every day. But hopefully we're going to have another two, two and a half weeks to keep pushing."
Brevin Jefferson finished with 12 points, eight of which coming in the second half, while also dishing out a team-high five assists on the night.
Christian Wells nearly finished with a double-double off the bench, recording nine points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers.
DJ Brewton had an impressive all-around game, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
"This team, if it can get to Hutch, which I think it should, the exciting thing is we're getting a lot better. You watched us tonight, I thought Shawnee was trying really hard. That's a team that wire-to-wire pretty much dominated Olney and they played pretty similar to what we watched on film and we come away with a 30-point win. That was not a knock on Shawnee, I thought John had them playing hard, they were there, we just wouldn't let them. Anytime we let up they had a chance, but we kept it on the ground most of the time for 40 minutes."
"I think you're seeing Kaskaskia was a pretty good club and we've held three-straight pretty good teams to under 50 points and that's tough to do. I think our guys have come a long way and the exciting thing is, if we can keep getting to play and I think we should, I think we'll be better in two weeks than we are now and I think we're getting better every day. We'll be dangerous if we get to Hutch. If we keep our mindset where it is, we'll be dangerous. We'll be a tough out for somebody if we play the way we are. But we won't play a tougher game than we're going to play Friday night."
Vincennes advances on to the NJCAA Division I Central District Championship game Friday, April 9, where the Blazers will take on No. 12 John A. Logan in Carterville, Ill. Where the winner will receive an automatic bid to this year's NJCAA Division I Championship tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. Tip-off time is set for 7 p.m. eastern.
"We've just got to get sharp. It's mindset time for us right now, that's all it is. We're not going to come up with some big concoction, we've just got to play ball. The way we've been playing, we're playing at a tremendous level at the moment and we'll take that to them and we'll make sure that we bring that level and if that level is not good enough, then it's not good enough but I want to make sure that we bring that level. I think if we bring that, then we'll have a decent chance at winning that basketball game. I thought if we brought that the last time we played them we would have had a decent chance."
"Get our inside guys going a little bit and they might have to make some jumpshots but you see what we do, they're in, they're out, they're up, they're down, so the things we need them to run against Logan we're already running. We've just got to execute them and do them. That's what we're going to be able to do against them to have a chance at being successful. Now we have to keep our attitude defensive that we're not going to let you score. We're going to fight you, we're going to battle you and offensively guys have to play with confidence. Run what we're running, we've got things that we run against them that will put their size in some situations where we can take advantage, guys just need to make plays."
"But it starts with the mindset. I've been here many, many times. I've cut a lot of nets down. I'm not going down there to lose. I may lose, but I'm not going there that way. So the attitude I'm going to convey to these guys and have been is we're Vincennes, we may get our butt kicked, but we're not going to be afraid of anybody. Maybe they'll do that, but we just need to bring our best stuff and trust it and whatever happens we need to rally back up and try to get that stuff and try to go to Hutch. I think we will and bring it the rest of the year. I think there's a lot of magic out there that can happen."
