Shawnee no match for No. 2 Trailblazers
February 04, 2019
VINCENNES, Ind. - Shawnee came out swinging Monday night, but it was the Vincennes University men鈥檚 basketball team who delivered the knockout punch.
And it came early.
The No. 2 Trailblazers used a 32-3 run in the first half to take a commanding 36-9 lead with 7 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Trailblazers never let off the pedal in a 102-50 shellacking of the visiting Saints.
With the win, VU improves to 22-1 on the season and extend its winning streak to eight.
It was the third straight game the Trailblazers have toppled the 100-point barrier.
鈥淩eally this is the fourth straight game where we have been able to distance ourselves from our opponent,鈥� VU coach Todd Franklin stated. 鈥淭he last 16-17 minutes of the first half tonight, we were pretty good. We are putting things together, now we just have to continue it.鈥�
Lony Francis, Jr. led six different Trailblazers in double figures as the sophomore preseason All-American tallied a game-high 17 points.
Colton Sandage added 16 points, George Dixon and Keith Clemons both scored 11 points while Jordan Lyons and Kevin Kone came off the bench to score 12 and 10 points, respectively.
鈥淎nd all those guys are scoring double figures in limited minutes so it鈥檚 not indicative on what kind of performance they really had,鈥� Franklin said.
The 16 points for Sandage was the fourth straight game he鈥檚 totaled 16 or more.
鈥淭he biggest thing with Colton is his shot preparation,鈥� the Trailblazers coach said of his outside sharpshooter. 鈥淲e have hammered it to him all season that he needs to bend his knees, get his backside back, chin to shot and be ready to shoot during the pass. It鈥檚 just some technical things and he is really locked in right now.
鈥淗e brings a tremendous quality to us, and we think he is going to continue to get his looks with the way we like to attack and get out inside looks as well.鈥�
Led by Sandage鈥檚 four triples, the Trailblazers knocked down seven of their 12 attempts from behind the arc.
VU made good on 39 of its 70 shots from the field, while holding Shawnee to 30 percent (17-for-56).
鈥淒efensively we are getting better,鈥� Franklin said. 鈥淧eople will look and talk about what we have scored, but really it all starts with getting stops and holding teams to a low percentage on their shots. That鈥檚 what we have done.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all coming together and now we just have to keep pushing.鈥�
The Trailblazers return to the court Saturday with a game against Kaskaskia inside the P.E. Complex.
Kaskaskia took the Trailblazers into overtime back on Dec. 8.
Tip-off is 7 p.m., following the women鈥檚 contest.
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VINCENNES UNIVERSITY, Department of University Relations, www.vinu.edu/newsroom