Trailblazers fall to East Mississippi on day one of McDonald’s Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers fell behind early against the visiting East Mississippi Community College Lions Friday night and were unable to answer back as the Trailblazers fell 64-50 on the first day of the first annual McDonald's Classic.

East Mississippi took the lead within the first two minutes of the game and Vincennes was never able to regain the lead the rest of the game.

The Lions built up a 16-point lead in the first half, before Vincennes would hit a basket to go into the locker room facing a 36-22 deficit.

East Mississippi continued to push in the second half, starting the half on a 6-0 scoring run.

Vincennes was able to force a draw in the second half, with the two teams each scoring 28 points in the 20-minute period.

The Lions held their biggest lead at 24 points late in the second half before freshman Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind.) hit a pair of late three's to cut the deficit back down to the eventually final 14 margin for East Mississippi, with the Lions winning 64-50.

"We didn't play very well," VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. "It's on me, but I don't think we played very well at all. I thought we had opportunities early. We ran some actions, got some easy layups right off the bat and we don't finish. Maybe it's because we're young, but I've had freshmen who have played pretty good before and I've had some that don't and right now we have to find some that will."

"We ran press break, there wasn't anything new that they threw at us. We've worked on it and we worked on it earlier today," Franklin added. "The options are there, like they always have been and we just freak out. We freak out in every way possible. We freak out handling the ball, we let people come up and take it from us. Or we just throw the ball to nothing. We also don't get to where we're supposed to on spots and we don't get there with urgency so you're in a good position to press break."

"That's essentially where we are, it happened to us against Harcum, it happened again tonight. We've worked extensively on press breaks because we knew we were going to get pressed Wednesday night, so we've had ample amounts of practice. Now it's just about finding guys who can go out there and get it done."

Freshman Thow James Biel (Calgary, Alberta) was the leading scorer for the Blazers offensively. The 6-foot-7 freshman finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on the night.

Brevin Jefferson ended his night with 13 points with a pair of assists and hitting three of six shots from behind the arc.

Freshman guard Trenton Johnson (South Bend, Ind.) came off the bench to score in double figures, ending with 11 points and two assists.

Freshman Shilo Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) only managed to score two points, but found other ways to contribute for the Blazers, leading the team with 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

"Until, if and when, the players get tired of playing this way and they want to come to me and do what they're supposed to do, like playing with a hard edge and no excuses, until then it's going to be brutal with our schedule," Franklin said. "There's no way that we can really win if they're not doing what they are supposed to be doing and do it with some determination."

"We told Shilo to set them up the hill, then come back down and score over the top against double and triple teams and he just wouldn't do it," Franklin added. "We finally got them to do it three times in the first half, he did it once and Thow did it twice and those were the three buckets we had in the post."

"It's on me. I made a choice to come out here with mostly freshmen, with a couple of guys that didn't work out but we're left with a group of freshmen that we brought in here and we expect them to play better," Franklin said. "We expect to be able to coach them up to play better. Right now, that hasn't happened and we're not getting any freebies because we're not playing anybody that would be freebies."

The Blazers will look to have a better result tomorrow when Vincennes hosts No. 18 Northeast Mississippi Community College Saturday, Nov. 13. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m. eastern.

"The biggest thing we need to do right now is play with some determination," Franklin said. "I want to see some real determination and being really locked in on the simple things we're supposed to be locked in on and then that determination needs to turn into real competitiveness. Not just out here hoping and wishing. So more than anything with the x's and o's, more than anything, that's what I want to see."

"I want to see that when we tell them, 'this is what you're supposed to be doing', that we see them locked into that and really fighting to do it," Franklin added. "That's all I want to see and that's really all I could ask for. Until that happens, we're not going to turn this around. I've had teams that have turned and improved even back at Southeastern Illinois, but it all centers on that. We'll see if it's in us. If it is, then I'll do my best to coach them up and get them as far down the line as I can. But until we see that, we're not going to have a change. We play too good of teams and we have to go earn it right now. That's just the situation we're in."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (50) – Thow James Biel 7-11 2-2 18, Shilo Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Ketaan Wyatt 1-5 0-0 3, Devawn White 0-4 0-2 0, Brevin Jefferson 5-11 0-0 13, Trenton Johnson 5-12 0-0 11, Darrius Davis 1-5 0-0 3, Grant Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Deatrick Pashell 0-0 0-0 0, Team 20-51 2-4 50.

East Mississippi – 36  28 – 64

Vincennes (2-3) – 22  28 – 50

Three-point goals: VU 8 (Jefferson 3, James Biel 2, Wyatt, Johnson, Davis). Rebounds: VU 26 (Jackson 11). Assists: VU 13 (Jackson 5). Steals: VU 1 (White). Blocked Shots: VU 3 (Jackson 2). Turnovers VU 19. Personal Fouls: VU 10. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: VU Coach, 2 – 10:38.