VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University hosted their second game in three days as the No. 18-ranked Trailblazers hosted Kaskaskia Wednesday night. VU grabbed their second win of the week by the final score of 79-64.
The first half was the back-and-forth battle we've come to expect in Region 24, with the lead changing hands five times and Vincennes having their largest lead of nine midway through the half.
The Trailblazers got into foul trouble early on, getting called for 19 fouls in the opening 20 minutes of play, which sent a few key VU players to the bench for long stretches of the first half.
Vincennes Hall of Fame head coach Todd Franklin was not immune to these foul calls either, picking up two quick technical fouls and being ejected from the game with two and a half minutes to go before halftime.
Trailblazer sophomore DJ Brewton drove through the lane to convert a lay up at the buzzer that gave the Trailblazers a one-point advantage heading into the locker room.
The energy levels on the VU sideline picked up in the second half as the Trailblazers opened the final 20 minutes of play by going on an 11-0 scoring run.
Vincennes looked to have all the momentum going their way in the second half as the Trailblazer lead grew to 19 points with five minutes to play.
Kaskaskia tried to mount a late comeback, with a few shots going in from behind the arc, but the Blue Devils were only able to cut into the deficit by four points, giving VU the 79-64 win.
"Our guys did a good job they handled this game the right way. I thought there wasn't a lot that was justified on either technical and these referees have the power to say 'you're gone' any time they want to and that's basically what happened," VU coach Todd Franklin said after his early exit from Wednesday night's game. "But I think our young men handled it very well and our coaching staff handed it well like I expected they would."
"For this team, a new-young team, sometimes you put a little adversity, which wasn't by design. The whistle was going the other way a little in the first half, they were getting a lot of calls and free throws shot and we were probably not as sharpe and determined as we need to be. Then when I left, I got a good seat watching the game in the office and obviously we picked it up. It'd be great if that causes them to band together and for one night they did. That's all we're trying to do, we're trying to get them to play with that intensity and focus and band together to take on the other team. We've been trying to get it, so if that works great. It wasn't the plan but that's outstanding."
"Sometimes the season plays out and you have moments like these and how you respond to those moments can determine how your season goes. I thought our guys handled it well. There are things we could do better and will need to do better if we're going to be as good as we could be, but this was a big win for us and kudos to our staff, Coach Davis and Coach Glash and to our players, I thought they did a great job."
The second half scoring run was fueled by freshman Justin Archer who picked up 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, while nearly finishing with a double-double with nine rebounds and getting three blocks.
Sophomore Christian Wells finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, narrowly missing getting his third double-double in a row.
Freshman Brandon Muntu finished with 13 points and three assists on the night and sophomore Randy Tucker ended with 12 points and five rebounds for the Blazers.
Sophomore John Ukomadu had an impressive game on the defensive end, swatting away a team-high four blocks and grabbing eight rebounds to go along with his seven points.
"I had the luxury of watching the second half, so I got to see it. I've been tossed before and you have no vision whatsoever before the streaming services, so the streams helped me out tonight. I just thought our guys played harder, it looked like they used it as a rallying cry, which is what we want them to do and they took it on."
"Hopefully that's what we do moving forward. There are so many areas where we could pick up our intensity and take it up another level, which should excite you if you're a player. But we've got to do it because there are a few spots where a little more focus and intensity. We saw when the guys rallied together and we got a little more intensity, you see that we're better and that's what we're trying to do every day is trying to get these guys to take that ownership. So if that's what got it, that's great. Whatever will get this team where it needs to be, that's all I'm about."
The Trailblazers will make the trip to Southwestern Illinois this weekend with out coach Todd Franklin, leaving the Trailblazers in the very capable hands of assistant coaches Brian Davis and Jim Glash as VU takes on SWIC Saturday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. eastern.
"We're not going to do anything different than we normally would," Franklin said of his preparation for Southwestern Illinois. "We'll try to get our team ready and right and hopefully they will be. I'm sure Coach Davis and Coach Glash will do a tremendous job and it'll be a great challenge because SWIC's got a good team and any time we go over there it's hard."
"It's a long day on the bus but hopefully this is a rallying moment, where our guys can rally together and say 'we can do this' and it helps to galvanize their focus even more. That's how we need to go about it. I think for the most part that's what the did tonight and hopefully that will be what they do on Saturday. We'll prepare them for the game, there will be no difference there, I just won't be on the bus."
