No. 6 Trailblazers close out tough Region 24 battle with Lake Land College

VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 6-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers looked to get back on track Saturday afternoon at the P.E. Complex with another Region 24 matchup, this time against Lake Land College.

Vincennes found themselves in a back-and-forth battle all game before coming away with a five-point 80-75 victory over the Lakers.

The back-and-forth game began early with the two teams trading baskets before the Lakers struck first with an 8-0 scoring run to take a 25-16 lead.

Vincennes would rally back late in the first half with a Ryan Oliver three to tie the game with four minutes to go and a Michael Osei-Bonsu putback to cap off a 10-0 VU run.

The Trailblazers would continue to add to close out the first half, outscoring the Lakers 12-4 to take a 41-33 lead into the locker room at the break.

Coming out of the halftime break the Trailblazers continued to add to their lead, building their largest lead of the game at 50-39.

Lake Land came back firing however, using a 14-3 scoring run to tie the game at 53-53.

The game would stay close, within one possession until VU used another 10-0 scoring run to build a nine-point advantage.

The Lakers again looked to battle back with a late comeback but could only get within three before the Blazers closed the game out at the free throw line to pick up the 80-75 victory.

"We are still learning and we are still figuring it out," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "We are still learning how to work and be disciplined. Some of those things showed up tonight where we haven't been as much as we should. But I thought our effort tonight, for the most part, was good."

"I didn't like how alert we were in the lane in the second half," Franklin added. "We lost those loose ball rebounds and we should have had five or six more stops but they ended up with layups, so we've got to do better there. I thought our effort was pretty good. It's just the beginning stages of really trying to turn into the team that we need to be. That involves figuring out who are going to be our guys. We've figured out that we have to work harder and be more about it and sometimes that's not easy. Some guys get a little too wired up doing it. Some guys haven't done it yet, so we are still in that stage. But I thought that there were steps forward tonight."

"Lake Land is obviously a problem," Franklin said. "They are going to be a problem for everybody and they've been a problem for everybody they've played. They are so big and they have the Close kid who can really shoot it. I thought we did a good job of chasing him tonight. Cox is a big three-man that can do things. They are going to attack you and put pressure on you. They made it hard, they competed, they are big and strong at every position. Camacho is a big guy at the point guard, Cox is a big three, both of their big guys are obviously big. They threw a 1-3-1 at us that we knew was coming. We had opportunities that I think as we get more disciplined and go back and work on things that were there that we could have done."

"We had some guys get really undisciplined during that stretch and just had some really bad turnovers that turned the game," Franklin added. "You can't have that. You see what happens when you are playing in a game at this level, it just swings the game. But we are just not mature and disciplined enough yet to stop those things when they are happening and we'll see over the next two or three months if we can mature more. I thought our effort was good. I thought we tried. I thought we cared and we found a way to get it done."

VU was led offensively by sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) who finished with 20 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Freshman Ryan Oliver (Nashville, Tenn.) reentered the starting lineup and answered the call with 15 points, three rebounds and a team-high three steals.

Freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) just missed another double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Karyiek Dixon (London, UK) cracked the starting lineup for the first time this season and came through with 11 points and eight rebounds, both career-highs for Dixon.

Freshman Kale Gaither (Madisonville, Ky.) came off the bench to add eight points and six assists, while sophomore Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) filled out the stats sheet with six points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Trailblazers shared the ball well all day against the Lakers, ending with 23 assists on 27 made field goals Saturday afternoon.

"I thought Ryan Oliver was good," Franklin said. "I thought he was smart. He had a couple of freshman things happen during the course of the game, but that's going to happen. Tonight, he shot the ball with more confidence. We thought we would get that from him in the preseason. So far, we haven't hit many shots, but he's a guy we thought could and he did tonight and they were key. He's going to end up being a very heady guy. He's a smart kid but he's still a freshman and your brain is all scrambled so it doesn't come out yet. But he knows."

"He's a guy that as the year goes on and these games get into being smart and tough, he's a guy that is going to become more and more valuable," Franklin added.  "I was happy for him. He's a great guy. He's a great student. He works at it, he's just been a little wired up and nervous. He's still learning and hopefully he's over that hill now because I think he is going to be a key contributor for us. He's got a weapon that we need and he's got a little bit of size and he's a tough enough kid to stick his nose in there. He cares and he's smart and those guys can take you a long way."

The Trailblazers will close out the first half of the season next week in VU's final game before the Holiday break when Vincennes hosts Southwest Tennessee Community College from Memphis, Tenn. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. eastern.

"We've defined the line," Franklin said. "It's all about now who wants to be above that line of what is acceptable to be here. How we work, what we do and I'm going to keep defining that line. The more guys we have that climb above that line and stay above that line, then we will really start coming together as a team. That's all this is about, every day."

"Some of the things that we struggled with tonight, when we are doing that all the time, we won't struggle with," Franklin added. "But I'm just worried about our team and I'm just worried about who our team is. That's just JuCo. You don't know who your team is going to be the first half of the year. You are figuring it out, especially when you get a new bunch like we have and they are figuring it out. Sometimes they have a hard time because the pressure is more, well, it ain't going to get less. You have to really work, care and try and there is pressure on you. I'm for the guys that feel that. Some of those guys haven't handled that great, now you try to get them to where they learn how to handle that."

"The guy that doesn't feel any at all, he probably doesn't care enough," Franklin said. "So we'll find out who those people are. You know the holes. You know the things that I have told you that you need to do and we have to find the guys that are going to come in and work at that until they get it and we are going to find the guys that really care. Like Ryan, he was a little wired up at first because he cares and he's never been through it."

"We'll see if those guys can get over that line and start seeing the real players that they can be," Franklin added. "We are in that process. We are going to get a chance to get a lot of work over the break. If we utilize that and we use what we've been through and have guys that are above that line and are disciplined enough to listen and work and put in the time and the other guys on the team hold each other accountable, which we've started to try to get to that. It's harder for us to do that because we don't have those returners who have been through it, so we've had to go through it a little bit, then set the edge. We'll keep doing it these next few days until we leave for Christmas. We'll expect that they do a great job the week that they are gone and we are going to come back in here and really get back to work. So the guys that come back better be really ready to work because it's serious business time now. That's all I'm worried about. I'm not worried about Southwest Tennessee. If they were the greatest team or the worst team in the world, it wouldn't make a difference to me right now. I'm just worried about our team."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (80): Caleb Johnson 8-13 2-3 20, Michael Osei-Bonsu 6-12 0-0 12, Karyiek Dixon 4-6 3-4 11, Tasos Cook 0-3 6-9 6, Ryan Oliver 5-8 2-4 15, Trenton Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, James Locke IV 0-4 2-2 2, Devawn White 1-3 4-6 6, Kale Gaither 3-5 0-0 8, Victor Lado 0-1 0-0 0, Shilo Jackson 0-3 0-0 0, Team 27-59 19-28 80.

Lake Land – 33   42 – 75

VU (15-1, 5-1) – 41   39 – 80

Three-point goals: VU 7 (Oliver 3, C. Johnson 2, Gaither 2). Rebounds: VU 40 (Osei-Bonsu 9). Assists: VU 23 (Cook 7). Steals: VU 9 (Oliver 3). Blocked shots: VU 5 (C. Johnson 2, Cook 2). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 21. Fouled out: Osei-Bonsu.