No. 1 Trailblazers Earn Gritty Road Win at Logan to Open Region 24 Play
CARTERVILLE, Ill. — The No. 1 Vincennes University Men's Basketball team remained unbeaten and secured a hard-fought Region 24 road victory Wednesday night, defeating John A. Logan College 87–80 to move to 12–0 overall and 1–0 in league play. The matchup marked just the second true road test of the season for the Trailblazers, who overcame heavy foul trouble, a significant free-throw disparity, and a fired-up Logan squad to extend their perfect start.
VU's resilience was tested immediately, as foul issues limited both Dayton Williams and Jalen Calloway to minimal first-half minutes. Despite playing without two of their primary weapons and trailing 18–5 in free-throw attempts at the break, the Trailblazers still carried a 40–37 lead into halftime behind exceptional efforts from freshman guard Drae Vasser and freshman forward Lorenzo Malagnini.
Hall of Fame and 16th-year Head Coach Todd Franklin praised Vasser and Malagnini's ability to stabilize the game when circumstances were at their most difficult. "Drae and Lorenzo were huge during that first half," Franklin said. "We had a tremendous amount of foul trouble, key guys barely played, and we were limited offensively — and we were still up three. That's a great testament to those two."
Vasser continued his outstanding play, leading the Trailblazers with 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting while adding eight assists and four rebounds. After a first half plagued by foul trouble, Williams delivered a crucial second half with 24 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Together, the pair helped stabilize VU's offense during key momentum swings and matched Logan's scoring punch possession after possession. Malagnini completed his strongest collegiate performance to date, scoring 19 points on an efficient 9-of-10 shooting, while grabbing nine rebounds.
VU's offensive execution consistently answered Logan's counterpunches, closing the night shooting 56.5% from the field. The Trailblazers also controlled the paint with a 48–34 scoring advantage inside, totaled 14 second-chance points, and maintained composure despite Logan's 36-to-23 attempt advantage at the free-throw line, of which the host made good on 26, and 53.2% field goal percentage.
Franklin emphasized the magnitude of winning under such circumstances — navigating situations they had rarely faced this season. "To win that game today with the kind of foul trouble we had, the free-throw disparity we had, against a very talented Logan team who was obviously fired up to have us in the building — that's a big victory," Franklin said. "Middle of finals, getting off a bus on a Wednesday night and facing that challenge, and to move to 12–0 — you've got to be proud of our guys for that."
Vincennes now returns home for its second Region 24 contest, hosting Lincoln Trail College on Saturday, December 13 at 4 p.m. ET, in an afternoon doubleheader with the women's basketball team. The matchup will serve as the final game of the 2025 calendar year for the men and is also Toys for Tots Night. Fans who donate a new stuffed toy at the game will receive free admission or a concessions voucher.
Join the Journey
As always, fans can keep up with the Vincennes University Men's Basketball squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @VUTrailblazers | @VincennesMBB
- Facebook: Vincennes University Athletics
- Instagram: @VincennesUTrailblazers
- Youtube (live & on demand content): BlazerVision
- Website: https://govutrailblazers.com
