INA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers fell in the Central District Quarterfinals 65-55 to the Shawnee Saints Monday night.
The Saints closed out the game on a 24-0 scoring run in the final eight minutes of play to come away with the opening round win.
VU fell behind early to Shawnee, quickly trailing by five points before the Blazers used a 9-3 scoring run to take the lead near the midway point of the first half.
Vincennes controlled the final 10 minutes of the first half, as VU built a 14-point halftime lead. The Blazers headed into the locker room leading 35-21 over Shawnee.
VU freshman Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) had a huge first half for the Blazers. The offense ran through the 6-foot-9 center early and often as Jackson went into the halftime break with 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Saints defense understandably focused their attention on Jackson in the second half, which allowed freshman Trenton Johnson (South Bend, Ind.) to get open on the perimeter to hit a pair of three's early in the final period.
Vincennes held onto their 14-point lead at 55-41 with just over eight minutes to play when the momentum of the game completely shifted.
Shawnee was able to final open space from deep to hit a couple of three's and drew even with Vincennes at 55-all with 4:35 to play.
The Saints continued to ride this momentum, forcing turnovers and getting open shots as Shawnee rode a 24-0 scoring run to a 65-55 win over the Trailblazers.
"As far as doing what we needed to do and putting guys in position, trying to get them prepare, obviously I have failed to get them to be tough enough because at the end of the day, that was the story tonight," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "From a basketball perspective, we would have won. I thought we were the better team. I thought we had control and then Shawnee just out-toughed us. They were using the same press they had all game. It was the same strategy to their press, they just upped it and started smacking and holding more."
"At the end of the day, we didn't show enough toughness," Franklin added. "We didn't catch the ball and 'chin' it. We didn't fight for balls. We were leaving Brevin out there on his own and he didn't really handle it well. Whether he tired or whatever, you have to be able to fight through that. We just had guys that didn't want it. They were doubling Brevin in the middle of the floor, so there were people open and our guys on the second line didn't want the ball."
"A 24-0 run ends the game. Against a team that you were playing better than all night, we just have to have someone deliver and not loose the ball. We wouldn't do things that we have preached everyday and things that we have never had a problem with but that's where it is."
"It's on me. It's my job to make sure that we have it. We had a number of things happen this year. We had some guys leave that didn't really want to be a part of it. We had guys get hurt. All the things that we went through that left us thin, but our thin still obviously, should have won tonight if we had been able to instill the toughness, discipline and the sharpness but we just haven't been able to. We've tried. I've tried and I have failed. I failed to get the right type of guy in here to get it out of him but at the end of the day that's what it came down to. We had one more test to pass tonight and that was the toughness test. If we had passed that we would have won going away. But we not only didn't pass it, we obviously flunked it."
VU was led offensively by Jackson, who ended the game with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jackson also came through with a pair of blocks on the defensive end of the floor.
Trenton Johnson connected on three three-point shots on his way to 13 points off the bench.
VU freshman Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the third VU scorer in double figures, ending with 10 points and dishing out a team-high eight assists.
Freshman Darrius Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) held his own on the glass Monday night, finishing with a team-high 10 rebounds, while also adding four points and four assists.
"I thought Shilo was really good in the first half," Franklin said. "I thought in the second half he wasn't the same guy. They were zoning around him, but he had the opportunity to catch, protect the ball and go up. He had to do that because they were going to smack at him and if he did that he was going to score. So, I thought there were still opportunities for him to score. Maybe not 19, but he could have gotten in double figures in the second half. It's just one of those things. He just has to grow."
"Brevin, he gets tired, but that's just the way it is," Franklin added. "The guys we've had in the past when we had an opportunity to put someone in never came out. But he tried and he fought. He just needs to bend his knees and get tougher. Tougher on the passes. Tougher on the step-ins and not let guys come and take it out of his hands. He would have had a good night and that changed at that moment."
"Trenton hit some shots. Defensively he's struggling. He struggles to handle the ball. We just didn't have enough ball-handlers down the stretch. But we had the same ball-handlers the whole game against the press. We could have struggled a little and still won. We could have stopped the game with 10 minutes left and we had a number of guys that you could have said had a good night but we had to pass one test that you should always have to pass if you want to be a champion. You have to pass the test of being tough, disciplined and hard-edged. I've always believed in it and I've always preached it and that's who we've been and I can't just sit by when we're not and not admit it. We are not that team. We weren't that team tonight and that's on me. I'll take the hit for it, but I will try everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Vincennes will join the list of schools hoping for one of eight at-large bid into the NJCAA Tournament, but it is very unlikely to happen.
The VU season will likely end with the Trailblazers holding a record of 12 wins and 19 losses and a 9-10 record against Region 24 opponents.
"The thing that stood out down the stretch was Shawnee smacked the ball out of our hands," Franklin said. "They intercepted very few passes. It was literally coming up to our guy and smacking it out of his hands. There is not a lot that we could do on the sidelines. We would love to come up with something, we've already got guys in the middle, we've already got guys in space and we've got guys lined out because we had handled the press all night. We didn't really have anybody to give it to, other than Brevin and the other guys just didn't want it."
"We had the game, we've controlled it," Franklin added. "Obviously what we wanted to do going in was working both offensively and defensively. Shawnee went to a zone in the second half, it didn't work. But instead of putting them away we just hung around at the 14-point mark. But it wasn't working for them. They tried to press in the first half and it didn't work and we were able to get some easy baskets on the back end of it. They switched to a zone to try to keep the ball out of Shilo's hands, but that wasn't working either because we were able to get a good shot every time down the floor."
"Shawnee has some quickness and they've got some tenacity and Coach Sparks does a great job of getting them to fight like that. But we would have guys do the same thing twice. Instead of putting the ball under their chin, they would keep it at their waist and it would get slapped away. Then they would look at me and that's the same look I've had all year. There is a point where I don't know what else to say. You have to meet the pass, catch the pass, 'chin' the ball, turn and look down the floor and there are plays. You turn their pressure into plays for us. But if you can't do that, then we've got a problem."
"No matter what, this is big-boy basketball and we just didn't do it. So if you don't do it, you go home and lose. That's what it has been all year. I think this is the first time I have ever failed at the end of the year to feel like we didn't lose because of toughness. We are known for that and we have a reputation for that and we've had a lot of success with that. Banner, accolades and championships have been based on our discipline and toughness. This time we failed to do that and that's always on the head coach. It's on me. I will do everything I can to make sure that it never happens again. I didn't want it to happen this time and once we were in it I tried. But I wasn't able to get it done."
"Credit to Coach Sparks. Even on a night where I didn't think they were the better team, which isn't a knock on them, they were the tougher team and I've always said I want to make sure we are the toughest and the smartest and we're just not. It pains me to say that and it's on me but I am going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again. I apologize to everybody for this season. I take full responsibility for it, but I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
VINCENNES BOX SCORE
VINCENNES (55): Thow James Biel 0-5 0-0 0, Ketaan Wyatt 0-3 1-2 1, Brevin Jefferson 4-6 1-2 10, Darrius Davis 2-6 0-1 4, Shilo Jackson 8-11 7-10 23, Trenton Johnson 5-13 0-0 13, Devawn White 1-1 2-2 4, Reece Hammelman 0-0 0-0 0, Team 20-45 11-17 55.
VU (12-19, 9-10) – 35 20 – 55
Shawnee – 21 44 – 65
Three-point goals: VU 4 (Johnson 3, Jefferson). Rebounds: VU 29 (Davis 10). Assists: VU 14 (Jefferson 8). Steals: VU 5 (Wyatt, Jefferson, Davis, Johnson, White). Blocked shots: VU 2 (Jackson 2). Turnovers: VU 21. Personal Fouls: VU 17. Fouled out: Davis.