Robinson, Ill. – Vincennes University fell four spots in the NJCAA Division I rankings this week to No. 8 and for the second week in a row the Trailblazers were upset on the road on Monday after falling to Lincoln Trail 82-79.
VU started the game hitting from distance, as threes from Randy Tucker, Brandon Muntu and Brevin Jefferson helped the Blazers build a 15-5 early lead.
Lincoln Trail responded on their home floor to even the game at 15-all as the remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth affair with VU heading into the break with a narrow five-point advantage.
The Statesmen came out of the locker room looking to defend their home court as Lincoln Trail took the lead back early in the second half.
Lincoln Trail would build on their lead throughout the second-half, holding a 69-60 lead with 4:20 remaining.
Vincennes began their comeback attempt. Getting the score down to just three points with four seconds to play as Brevin Jefferson raced down the court and was fouled just before he was able to get a shot attempt and was only awarded two shots from the foul line.
Lincoln Trail hit their free throws down the stretch to keep the VU comeback at bay as the Statesmen picked up the 82-79 victory.
Vincennes was led offensively by sophomore DJ Brewton, who would finish with 14 points, 10 of which coming in the second half.
Sophomore Randy Tucker helped get the Blazer offense started in the first half as he would finish with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Brandon Muntu also got VU rolling offensively early coming off the bench, scoring nine of his 11 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
Freshman Brevin Jefferson and sophomore Deatrick Pashell finished with 10 points each, with Jefferson also adding six rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Pashell would grab three rebounds and swat away two Lincoln Trail shots as the Vincennes defense came away with eight rejections on the night.
Sophomore John Ukomadu was the leading rebounder for VU, grabbing 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end of the floor, to go along with his six points, two assists and two blocks.
Vincennes will take part in a NJCAA Game of the Week nominee Wednesday night as the Blazers host a Top-10 matchup against No. 6-ranked John A. Logan February 10th. This game is part of a men's/women's doubleheader with the men's game set to tip-off at 7 p.m. eastern.