INA, Ill. – The No. 4-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers clinched their spot in Friday night's 2024 Region 24/Central District Championship with an 84-68 victory over defending NJCAA National Champion John A. Logan College.
The Trailblazers got an outstanding night out of sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) who finished with a career-high 33 points, 15 rebounds and six steals for VU.
Vincennes earned a spot in Friday's Region 24 Championship game and will play for an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I National tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
The first half Wednesday night was a back-and-forth battle, with John A. Logan holding the upper hand for most of the opening 20 minutes.
Vincennes was able to put together a 9-0 scoring run to take their first lead late in the first half at -32, but the Volunteers were able to close out the first half of play on a 9-3 run of their own.
The Trailblazers headed into the locker room trailing John A. Logan 41-37 at the break, despite having 21 points by Michael Osei-Bonsu in the first half, just one point off of his season high.
The halftime speech in the locker room appeared to work for the Trailblazers in the second half as VU opened the final 20 minutes by really cranking up the defensive pressure.
Vincennes opened the second half on a 29-8 scoring run to take a 66-49 lead midway through the period.
The Volunteers looked to answer back down the stretch but were unable to put together a big scoring run of their own as Vincennes was able to cap off an 84-68 victory, outscoring the Vols 47-27 in the second half.
"Mike carried us in the first half when nobody was playing," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "It was like playing one on five. Ryan was doing some things defensively but also made a couple of silly fouls and took himself out. So at halftime we challenged a few guys and try to see if we could play five on five."
"In the second half we found five that were playing and we think we're pretty good when we're playing," Franklin added. "In the second half we played, it's that simple. Kris King stepped up in the second half. Lebron was more aggressive in the second half and we have some downhill things set up for him and Kris. We got them caught in some of our actions early in the half and it made it very difficult for them to guard us man-to-man. They went to the zone and we were prepared for the zone. We thought there were some areas we could attack and Kris was going to be a key part of that since the last time we saw them."
"I thought they played well," Franklin said. "I thought defensively we were much better in the second half. We only gave up 27 points in the second half. That's more like it. It was a good effort. Logan is hard to beat. Especially when they are all jacked up and ready to go and playing over here, which this is basically a road game for us. It's a tough road game, four hours round trip on the bus Monday and two hours getting over here today. But our guys got it done and it's a big win for us. Obviously, I think we're already in the tournament and now I can't see how we don't get a bye at this point. But we'll see. We want to come out here Friday and win a championship and we'll see if we can do that."
Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu put the team on his back Wednesday night, setting a new career high with 33 points on the night, picking up his 10th double-double of the season and 16th of his VU career with 15 rebounds and also set a new career high with six steals.
Freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) was able to provide some offensive assistance in the second half, scoring 15 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, including hitting a pair of threes to go along with his eight rebounds and team-high six assists.
Sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) was the third VU scorer in double-figures Wednesday night, coming off the bench to score 14 points, all in the second half, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Sophomore Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) again drew a tough defensive assignment guarding John A. Logan leading scorer Julian Norris for most of the night.
Norris was coming off of a 36-point outburst in the Volunteers quarterfinal victory over Lake Land College but was held to just 11 points Wednesday against VU.
Oliver finished his night with five points and a pair of assists.
"Mike was doing what he needed to do down there underneath," Franklin said. "We got a couple of buckets for Karyiek early in the second half in some actions and then we were able to get them spread out and get Kris in some areas where he could score. Lebron took advantage of going downhill on them. I thought Kent was much more solid in the second half. Kent, Ryan, Kris, Lebron and Mike was what we rode. Karyiek gave up some things early and then we rode with that group. We thought that group could really handle man or zone. We had some actions involving Kris at the four and also, they were doing to stretch the floor on us offensively and he matched up better defensively. We just rode that group. I thought that was our best group."
The Trailblazers advance to the 2024 NJCAA Division I Region 24/Central District Championship game held at Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill. Friday March 15 and will face the No. 6 seed Wabash Valley College. Tip-off time Friday is set for 8 p.m. eastern.
Vincennes defeated Wabash Valley 80-62 at VU and 78-51 in Mt. Carmel during the regular season.
The winner of Friday night's Region Championship game will earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I National Championship tournament held in Hutchinson, Kan. from March 24 through March 30.
"We're going to get on the bus and head home, we'll watch the second semifinal on YouTube on the way back," Franklin said. "Scout them again tomorrow. We played Wabash Valley late in the season. We know they are coming into Friday hot and they know they are playing to go to Hutch and if the don't win then they don't. So you know that they are going to play with confidence because they have won two big ball games with a great deal of intensity and passion because they have got everything on the line. We know we'll have a tough game Friday but the same thing has been true all year long, if we are ready to play and play well, we like our chances."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (84): Damarien Yates 0-1 1-2 1, Ryan Oliver 2-3 1-2 5, Lebron Thomas 7-12 5-10 21, Michael Osei-Bonsu 16-18 1-4 33, Karyiek Dixon 2-3 0-0 4, Kris King 5-11 4-4 14, Kent King 0-4 2-4 2, Victor Lado 1-2 2-2 4, Team 33-54 16-28 84.
John A. Logan – 41 27 – 68
VU (29-3, 16-2) – 37 47 – 84
Three-point goals: VU 2 (L. Thomas 2). Rebounds: VU 33 (Osei-Bonsu 15). Assists: VU 20 (L. Thomas 6). Steals: VU 11 (Osei-Bonsu 6). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (L. Thomas 2). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 14. Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: VU Coach (1 – 11:40).