By Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director
Blazers beat Carl Sandburg 101 - 90, next game is Tuesday night
November 10, 2008
Freeman, Garrett Help Trailblazers Knock Off Chargers
The 17th-ranked Vincennes Trailblazers lit up the scoreboard for 60 points by halftime en route to a 101-90 Blazerfest Homecoming victory over over Carl Sandburg Saturday night.
Sophomore forward John Freeman again led the Trailblazers in scoring with 20 points. Freshman forward Daimion Garrett – making his first start of the season – tied Freeman for team scoring honors. Freeman had a perfect night shooting the ball. He hit all eight of his shots from the field, including both from 3-point range, and sank both attempts from the free throw line. Freeman also grabbed nine rebounds.
Freshman guard Antonio Sullivan came off the bench to score 13, thanks to a 3-for-5 performance from behind the arc. Sullivan’s shooting from long range helped VU log eight 3-pointers in the first half and 11 for the game.
Jeremy Sewall had a game-high 23 and Will Marlow scored 20 points for Carl Sandburg. The Trailblazers held pre-season Second-Team All-America selection Kuddles Hopkins to nine points.
VU (3-0) jumped ahead 11-1 to start the game and then got outscored 33-24 to allow Carl Sandburg to temporarily make it a close contest. The Trailblazers then rocked the Chargers with a 25-7 run of their own to head to the locker room with a 60-42 advantage at intermission. J.P. Olukemi broke loose for 13 during the blitz.
The Trailblazers continued to pound on the Chargers after the half and extended the lead to 82-53 with about 10 minutes left in the game. VU scored 18 points over the next six minutes but then went cold and scored only one point in the waning four minutes. Trailblazers Coach David Ragland was obviously happy to get a victory but he wasn’t pleased with the finish.
"We won, but we’re not satisfied,” he said. “When we run our offense and set screens, we get good shots. We just have to do it, and we didn’t at times tonight."
The Trailblazers travel to Kaskaskia College Tuesday. Tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. and Dave Hunter’s play-by-play can be heard on Blazer 91.1 WVUB.
Trailblazers 101, Chargers 90
VINCENNES
Freeman 8-8 2-2 2-2 20; Garrett 8-13 2-4 2-2 20; Stallings 5-7 2-2 13;
Olukemi 6-10 2-4 2-5 16; Davis 5-9 2-4 1-3 13; Sullivan 5-8 3-5 0-0 13;
Passley 2-4 1-3 2-2 7; Archie 2-4 0-0 0-0 4; Stewart 1-3 0-1 1-3 3;
Henderson 1-4 0-0 0-0 2; Stallings 0-0 0-0 2-2 2; Wyse 0-2 0-2 1-4 1;
Conn-Baird 0-1 0-1 0-0 0; Trueblood 0-1 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 38-67 14-24
101.
CARL SANDBURG
Sewall 8-17 0-0 7-13 23; Marlow 7-13 6-10 0-0 20; Lewis 6-13 3-7 0-0 15;
Clark 4-8 0-0 3-5 11; Hopkins 4-15 1-5 0-0 9; Smith 3-6 0-1 0-0 6;
Rademaker 1-3 1-1 0-0 3; Robinson 1-2 0-1 0-0 2; Bolen 0-4 0-1 1-2 1.
Totals: 34-81 11-26 11-20 90.
For more information, contact Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director at 812-888-6831or tguthrie@vinu.edu.
November 10, 2008
Trailblazers Look for Consistency at Both Ends of Floor
Although Tuesday night's opponent, Kaskaskia College, has struggled to a 1-2 record this season, Vincennes Coach David Ragland sees some similarities between his 3-0 team and the Blue Devils.
Because the 17th-ranked Trailblazers have had their own issues to deal with on the young season, Ragland is stressing discipline, not only as VU heads to Centralia, Ill., Tuesday to take on Kaskaskia, but for the season as a whole.
“They (Kaskaskia) have some new faces and a brand new coach, so I'm sure they're going through a learning process just like we are,” Ragland said. “But that doesn't change the fact that we have to take care of the ball and defend people.”
Ragland was speaking after his team opened up a 29-point second-half lead on Carl Sandburg College Saturday at the VU PE Complex and scored only one point in the final four minutes while the Chargers made the final score 101-90.
“Giving up 90 points is just not acceptable,” he added. “Our goal should be (allowing) no more than the mid-60s every game. So, the word of the week, I guess, is discipline. We have some real bright spots with our team but we have to be a disciplined team to be one that is playing in March.”
Sophomore forward John Freeman leads the Trailblazers in scoring at 21.0 points per game. Freeman is shooting 71 percent from the field (including hitting all three attempts from 3-point range) and averaging 10 rebounds over the first three games of the season.
Freshman J.P. Olukemi is second in scoring at 12.3 points per game, followed by sophomore DeAntre Jefferson at 11.5 and freshman Daimion Garrett at 10 points per game.
Sophomore Devon Archie is just behind Freeman with a 9.7 rebounds-per-game average.
Kaskaskia has five returning players from last season's 23-8 squad. Those players and their 2007-08 statistics are:
Forward Tim Baines (10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds)
Forward Kahmell Broughton (8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds)
Forward Myron Harlston (7 points and 5.2 rebounds)
Tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. Dave Hunter’s pre-game show, which begins at 8 p.m., and play-by-play can be heard on Blazer 91.1 WVUB.
For more information, contact Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director at 812-888-6831or tguthrie@vinu.edu.
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