No. 8 Trailblazers close out week strong with wire-to-wire win over Kaskaskia

VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 8-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out the weekend strong after picking up their second consecutive 84-61 Region home win Saturday afternoon.

The Trailblazers battled Kaskaskia College from Centralia, Ill and managed to jump on the Blue Devils early and pull away late to pick up the wire-to-wire 23-point victory.

The game began back and forth with VU sophomore Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) scoring the first seven points for the Blazers before helping VU use a 13-3 scoring run to take an early 20-9 lead over the Blue Devils.

Kaskaskia would battle back however, cutting the deficit all the way down to one point before the Trailblazers managed to grow their lead back to nine points before halftime, leading 41-32 at the break.

The two teams traded baskets coming out of the break before Kaskaskia used an 8-0 run to cut the VU lead down to two points early in the second half.

Vincennes was able to respond back on the home floor however, outscoring the Blue Devils 12-2 to take a 65-51 lead.

Kaskaskia fought back but were unable to cut the VU lead back down to single digits as VU pulled away late with an 8-0 scoring run to close out the 84-61 win over the Blue Devils.

"I think, in spots, we did some really good things today," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "Being able to put together 40 minutes of that intensity level that you have to have is something that you have to learn just like shooting a free throw or dribbling. You have to learn how to focus in with the right kind of intensity for an entire game and we are still working at that."

"I thought it was a little bit like pulling teeth at times," Franklin added. "The guys want to do it, but they have to know what that really is and then take that ownership of how am I going to get my engine going and how am I going to get the guy next to me going. But I thought offensively we were pretty sharp most of the game, then we got a few turnovers when our concentration would go away. That was about the times when we would get stopped. Other than that, we were pretty efficient."

"It was a good effort," Franklin said. "Kaskaskia is a good team. When you win 84-61, just like we did Wednesday against Wabash Valley, those are hard to do. So there are a lot of good things in there. My job is to squeeze every ounce out of these guys right now. Especially when you are us and you are trying to get over that line and when it's over you want to make sure that you have left nothing out there."

"But we are doing good things," Franklin added. "We are 20-2. We've played good teams all year. This is a new bunch of guys. We have very few guys who have been through much of anything on this team. I'm proud of them and when I'm trying to pull things out of them it's not that I'm not proud of them or I don't know that they have done well but we are not at that point. We are at that point where we need to turn that corner. We've got one more week of January basketball left. Wednesday at Lewis & Clark and back here Saturday against Olney Central, which I hope we have this gym rocking because that's a big game. But after that, it's February. We've got all Region games left and I think right now all of our Region teams are pretty good. I think all of them are good enough to still have the dream of winning the tournament. So that means every game, they are going to put their best out there. They are going to figure out what we can do well, what we don't and they are going to grind the heck out of it."

"You saw it today against Kaskaskia and Wednesday against Wabash Valley," Franklin said. "They make you get over an edge and when we are not over that edge you see what can happen. We'll go up by 10 or 11 and relax a little bit and then they are right back on you. That just means you are constantly on that edge and our guys have got to learn that. But that's just like everything else with this team, they have got to learn it. They don't know it yet. They haven't been through it. So it's can we learn it on the fly, but we don't have any choice because that's what we have to do if we are going to get it done. I'm still completely determined to get it done and I think our guys want to get it done. They are just having to learn how to do it."

VU was led offensively by sophomore Tasos Cook who set a new Trailblazer career-high with 26 points, including a perfect 13 of 13 from the free throw line. Cook would also lead the Blazers with seven assists, while also grabbing three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) ended his day with 21 points, four assists and a team-high three blocks. Johnson has now scored in double-figures for 21 of VU's 22 games this season.

Freshman Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) also hit double-figures, ending his day with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) was a force on the defensive end of the floor, grabbing nine defensive rebounds and a career-high five steals as he just missed a double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds on the day.

"I liked all of our guys today, I thought they all did good things," Franklin said. "We challenged Tasos a little bit earlier this week that all of our guards are going to have to get more aggressive going downhill. We've got to get some things at the basket that we have traditionally got and we haven't been getting. We've been winning, but we haven't gotten that and I think that that has got to be added here down the stretch to some extent. I thought this week he has done a much better job of that. It's a fine line, because you don't want to do too much and force things but we have to get some things going towards the basket."

"Ryan also has to get some things going toward the basket but he also has to be a guy that when it goes to the basket and we kick it back out, he has to be ready to hit some shots," Franklin added. "We have to have some guys that can be really good catch and shoot shooters. We have challenged him with that and he has done that pretty well this week. That's a big difference between what happened on Monday and what has happened these last two games. It's players stepping up. The fundamentals and foundation of what we are doing didn't change tremendously. It was just guys stepping up and owning it and doing it. We as coaches will make little tweaks to help them and we will work like heck on their fundamentals and get them to learn what they are to help make those things better. But at the end of the day, you have to have a guy that steps up and does that job and I thought Tasos and Ryan both did a good job of stepping up this week and doing their jobs."

The Trailblazers will hit the road to begin next week when VU travels to Godfrey, Ill. to take on Lewis & Clark Community College, Wednesday, Jan. 25. Tip-off time Wednesday is set for 8 p.m. eastern.

VU took the earlier meeting of the 'Battle of the Blazers' in November at the P.E. Complex, winning 90-59 behind a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double by sophomore Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.).

"I just want us to start making that turn down the home stretch right here," Franklin said. "But I want us to take on the challenge. We don't lie to ourselves. When something doesn't go right, we say it didn't go right and here's what we have got to face to confront it and get through it. I've always believed in that."

"We've had two long bus trips so far this season and haven't played well," Franklin added. "So what I want to see is our guys being very determined that we know that and it isn't going to happen again Wednesday. I hope that's what I see and I've addressed that already. But it's up to them. What I want to see, before we ever get on that bus, I want to see it in their eyes and in their actions that we didn't play very well the last two times we've had to go on these long trips and that just ain't going to happen."

"All the reasons why, we're throwing those out," Franklin said. "We've got to handle this business. That's what I want to see, more than anything, over these next couple of days. I want to see that kind of determination and that kind of ownership of the situation and then what I hope to see on Wednesday is I hope I actually see guys own it. They come off that bus ready. I'm coming in here and there is no way that we play like we did after the last two long bus trips we've had because we have to make that adjustment."

"if that happens, then it will be another moment of growth for us," Franklin added. "We had growth this week. From what happened on Monday, I thought our guys grew up a little and we'll see how much as we continue on. It's just a continuing process. But I am proud of this team. I think this is a very good basketball team and they have had to make themselves a very good basketball team. When you start as really nothing and have to put it together under a pretty big microscope here and a pretty tough schedule and pretty high expectations and with very limited experience. I'm proud of what they have done so far but I think there is still more in there and we are going to do everything we can to get it out."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (84): Caleb Johnson 8-12 3-4 21, Michael Osei-Bonsu 4-6 1-1 9, Shilo Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Tasos Cook 6-12 13-13 26, Ryan Oliver 7-12 1-2 17, Devawn White 0-1 0-0 0, Kale Gaither 1-4 0-0 2, Kris King 2-4 1-1 5, Karyiek Dixon 1-2 0-0 2, Team 30-56 19-21 84.

Kaskaskia – 32   29 – 61

VU (20-2, 8-2) – 41   43 – 84

Three-point goals: VU 5 (C. Johnson 2, Oliver 2, Cook). Rebounds: VU 31 (Osei-Bonsu 14). Assists: VU 21 (Cook 7). Steals: VU 12 (Osei-Bonsu 5). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (C. Johnson 3). Turnovers: VU 11. Personal Fouls: VU 23. Fouled out: None.