First half defense propels No. 15 Vincennes to National Quarterfinals

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The No. 15 Vincennes University Trailblazers advanced to the NJCAA Division I National Quarterfinals Tuesday night after defeating No. 2 College of Southern Idaho 75-70.

VU's zone defense in the first half caused the Golden Eagles fits as CSI's shooters went 0-9 in the first half from behind the three-point arc and VU held Southern Idaho to just 19 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Trailblazers struck first early at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, with VU quickly jumping out to an early 5-0 lead.

Southern Idaho would answer back to take the lead and held their biggest lead at 9-7, before VU used a 6-0 scoring run to take the lead back.

VU would grow their lead throughout the opening period of play, before scoring the final five points of the first half to take a 33-19 lead into the locker room break.

Vincennes looked to continue this hot start out of the locker room in the second half and built what would be their largest lead of the game at 37-22.

The two teams would trade baskets with the Golden Eagles slowly chipping away at the VU lead by trading twos for threes.

Southern Idaho would get the VU lead back down to single digits before VU used a small 4-0 run to grow the lead back to 11.

CSI's shooters really caught fire late with the Golden Eagles coming within a single point of VU with under a minute to play.

VU sophomores Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) and Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) converted at the free throw line down the stretch as VU managed to hang on to the five-point, 75-70 victory and advance to the National Quarterfinals on Thursday.

"We played the zone defense pretty well in the first half," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "We thought we could catch them off a little bit with that. We thought we needed to do that because their point guard is so outstanding that we felt like we didn't need to be dealing with him going down hill on us all night. We thought we had some things in that zone that at least for a half would keep them off balance."

"We knew at some point tonight we were going to have to play a man defense," Franklin added. "We tried to hold off as long as we could because we had Tasos out there playing some big minutes and because that guy is so good at going down hill and you don't know how the whistle is going to blow."

"I thought our guys did a really good job," Franklin said. "We played all 12 guys in the first half, so everybody was involved in it tonight. Obviously, we did a good job to be up 33-19 at the half. I thought we really controlled it. Then they went to pressing and trapping and we had to fight and battle to hold on in the second half. They were 10 of 14 from three in the second half, which they can do. That's why they were the No. 1 team in the country all year long."

"We knew they were going to make a run," Franklin added. "And we did some things to help them on that run. But that's going to happen. It's hard to play throughout that entire game against somebody that good. You just throw blows back and forth and just hope you have more there at the end. I've been doing this a long time. I've had some great wins and some heartbreaking losses out here but we are not usually an easy out and we weren't going to be an easy out today."

"We didn't think of this as an upset," Franklin said. "A week and a half ago we had Logan on the ropes with three minutes to go on the road. We have been a legitimate top-10 team all year. Anybody out there that doesn't think so, they weren't watching the games. We have been and we've played like it. We've had to learn as we go along, but we've been there the whole time. It's just about getting through that wall."

"This is our fourth game against the two teams that have been No. 1 all year, Logan and Southern Idaho," Franklin added. "We've been battle tested in every way possible throughout and we've been right there. The first time when we played Logan on the road, was the only time. Every other game against those two teams has come right down to the end with this new team learning and tonight we just got through it. Now we'll see if we can get through three more."

The Trailblazers were led offensively by Caleb Johnson, who finished with 17 points and three rebounds on the night.

Freshman Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) came off the bench to score 14 points, grab five rebounds and dish out four assists. Oliver also led the Blazers with a pair of steals defensively.

Tasos Cook came on down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half, while also dishing out a team-high seven assists.

Freshman Kris King (Washington, D.C.) played some big minutes off the bench to score 12 points and grab a team-high eight rebounds. King would also dish out five assists for the Blue and Gold.

Freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) scored eight points on a perfect four of four shooting from the floor and freshman Karyiek Dixon (London, UK) came off the bench to grab six big rebounds.

"I thought Caleb was much more himself tonight offensively," Franklin said. "He had 19 yesterday in the first game and he had 17 tonight but tonight I thought he was better. He looked more confident and more assured. He made plays where he looked more like himself and hopefully that is where he's rolling now."

"I thought Kris King was really good," Franklin added. "He had a couple of charge calls not go his way, but I thought he was going to stick the ball in the basket on those and have himself a really big night. I thought he played well."

"Everybody was involved in the game," Franklin said. "We played all 12 in the first half and were up 14. This was everybody and it had to be everybody. It will have to be everybody if we are going to get through these next three."

The Trailblazers advance to the Round of Eight in Hutchinson, Kansas and will play the defending National Champions, No. 7 Northwest Florida State on Thursday, March 23 for the right to advance to the Final Four. Tip-off time Thursday is set for 3 p.m. eastern.

"We came out here looking at this as two tournaments," Franklin said. "Yesterday and today were the first section and if we could get through that, then we would have that day off and then go into the second section of the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Well, we've pushed through to that second tournament. Now you are in the Elite Eight."

"I don't have much to say about it right now," Franklin added. "Our guys have played great. I'm proud of them. I love them. We have pushed them hard all year long so they would be able to do this. We've been through it and have done it before. We know what it takes and I've said all along, I think that they can do it. They just have to dig down and get through it. Tonight, we did and we'll have another big chance to play in another big-time game Thursday afternoon."

"I hope that everybody understands how special this stuff is," Franklin said. "There are not a lot of teams in Indiana that are going to Elite Eights. There are not a lot of teams in Indiana that are winning National Championships. But they do here in Vincennes and we have been. So, everybody needs to perk up and get excited about the Trailblazers. Because the Trailblazers have been doing special things for a long time and this team here has done a really special thing. Nobody on this team has done it before. It's an all-new environment and they've learned all year. They have put 30 wins on the board and have taken on the best of the best on the schedule and we are still standing here with as good a chance to win this thing as anybody. Hats off to our guys. But we are not done."

"We'll be fine Thursday," Franklin added. "Energy will not be a problem. You can't be tired because you have to go out and play day after day when you are playing for a National Championship. Day off tomorrow, we'll be fine. We're healthy. We're good. We won't get beat because we are tired. We'll scout our opponent and have a good plan. Our guys will be ready and we'll give it a heck of a go come Thursday afternoon."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (75): Tasos Cook 3-5 6-9 13, Trenton Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Caleb Johnson 7-12 3-4 17, Michael Osei-Bonsu 4-4 0-2 8, Shilo Jackson 2-4 0-0 4, James Locke IV 0-1 0-0 0, Devawn White 0-1 0-1 0, Kris King 5-12 1-2 12, Ryan Oliver 4-6 5-5 14, Kent King 0-0 0-0 0, Victor Lado 0-1 0-0 0, Karyiek Dixon 1-2 2-2 4, Team 27-51 17-25 75.

VU (30-5, 16-5) – 33   42 – 75

Southern Idaho – 19   51 – 70

Three-point goals: VU 4 (Cook, T. Johnson, Kr. King, Oliver). Rebounds: VU 34 (Kr. King 8). Assists: VU 19 (Cook 7). Steals: VU 6 (Oliver 2). Blocked Shots: VU 4 (Oliver, C. Johnson, Jackson, Dixon). Turnovers: VU 11. Personal Fouls: VU 24. Fouled out: Osei-Bonsu.