MATTOON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers moved up two spots in this week's NJCAA Division I National Rankings to No. 4 in the country.
The Blazers got their first opportunity to defend this new ranking Wednesday night at Lake Land College in Mattoon.
Vincennes controlled the rebounding game all night to the tune of 47 rebounds and 22 offensive rebounds in a 90-67 victory over the host Lakers.
The Trailblazers struggled offensively early in the first half of play but were able to get their footing and use an 8-2 scoring run to take an early 17-11 lead.
Lake Land would battle back in front of the home crowd and were able to cut the VU lead all the way down to one at 32-31, before the Blazers answered back with five unanswered.
The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the first half, with Vincennes heading into the locker room break leading Lake Land College 40-36.
VU looked to pull away early in the second half, scoring the first six points of the period to take the first double-digit lead of the game at 46-36.
Lake Land would again answer and cut the VU lead down to four before VU used a 9-0 run to take a 61-47 advantage over the Lakers.
Vincennes would look to put the game away for good with a late 7-0 scoring run to grow their lead to 20.
VU continued to close out the game strong, coming away with the 90-67 Region 24 victory over Lake Land College, VU's fifth victory in a row and 15th victory of the year.
"We started to get a little more organized offensively," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "We played on one side of the floor for the first seven or eight minutes of the game. We didn't swing the ball and we didn't break them down. Then when they are coming towards me in the second half it's a little easier for me to control it and we've got to do a better job in the first halves when they are away from me."
"I just thought we just did a better job of getting organized and solid and once we did, we were able to get shots," Franklin added. "We didn't shoot it overly well from the perimeter. If we had done that, I think we could have pulled away earlier in the second half. Then we also started sitting down and stopping the ball better, that way we didn't have Davis going in and getting in the lane all the time in the second half."
"I also thought that Victor Lado gave us a great lift," Franklin said. "We were having a hard time with that position tonight and whoever it was that was in there was not having their best nights. Victor stepped in and when he played, we played better. So Victor got to keep playing. That's kind of how we do it. I tried to tell everybody that and they didn't hear me. When that merry go round goes where somebodies playing better and we're playing better then that merry go round stops and tonight it stopped on Victor, so he got to play all night."
The Trailblazers were led offensively by sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) who finished with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and a team-high three steals.
Sophomore Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) and freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) each accounted for 19 points for VU, including combining to hit 17 of 20 from the free throw line.
Oliver would also add six rebounds and a team-high seven assists to his totals, while Thomas added five rebounds, five assists and matched King's team-high three steals.
Sophomore Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky.) had a big game off the bench, playing most of the second half on his way to 10 points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) helped the Trailblazers control the rebounding game all night with a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points.
"(Kris, Ryan, Lebron) all of those guys contributed," Franklin said. "I thought if our wings had been able to hit better from the perimeter then we could have had some really big nights. I thought Kris is doing a good job. He's giving us probably and All-Region level out of our three-man these last couple of games. If he can continue to do that and gets back to hitting threes again, then he can really take off."
"Again, I thought Victor gave us big minutes," Franklin added. "And he gave us a couple of threes at the top of the key, which he is capable of and were big shots. And they were the right shots. He shot the ball at the right time for what he does. He's very capable of that, we just want him to take the right ones. He shot three of them tonight, all three of them were the right shot and he hit two."
"I thought it was a good night," Franklin said. "I thought Michael got better during the late stretch when he played. He got better in the last rotation we got him in. We played him more as a four then. We went with the bigger group out there and we were able to get it done."
The Trailblazers will return home for their first home game of 2024 this Saturday, Jan. 13 when VU hosts the defending NJCAA Division I National Champions John A. Logan College at the Physical Education Complex.
This game will be the back half of the first women's and men's Region 24 basketball doubleheader this season, with the VU Lady Trailblazers tipping off at 2 p.m. eastern and the VU men's team tipping off at 4 p.m. eastern.
"We've just got to get sharper and play earlier," Franklin said. "If we're going to beat a team as talented as Logan, we've got to be ready to play right from the jump."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (90): Damarien Yates 1-9 5-6 7, Kris King 9-17 2-3 20, Ryan Oliver 5-11 8-9 19, Lebron Thomas 4-8 9-11 19, Michael Osei-Bonsu 3-8 0-1 6, Gerard Thomas 2-4 1-2 5, Kent King 0-3 4-4 4, Victor Lado 4-6 0-0 10, Karyiek Dixon 0-1 0-0 0, Team 28-67 29-36 90.
VU (15-1, 2-0) – 40 50 – 90
Lake Land – 36 31 – 67
Three-point goals: VU 5 (L. Thomas 2, Lado 2, Oliver). Rebounds: VU 47 (Osei-Bonsu 11). Assists: VU 20 (Oliver 7). Steals: VU 10 (Kr. King 3, L. Thomas 3). Blocked Shots: VU 2 (Yates, G. Thomas). Turnovers: VU 12. Personal Fouls: VU 16. Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: VU Coach (1 – 7:22).