By Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director

Men almost upset 3rd ranked; ladies rout Southeastern Illinois

December 6, 2008

Trailblazers Nearly Upset One of Nation's Top Teams

The Vincennes Trailblazers had opportunities to shock NJCAA third-ranked Southeastern Illinois Saturday at the VU P.E. Complex, but the Falcons came up with just enough to fend off the VU upset bid. Southeastern Illinois overcame an eight-point VU lead late in the game and Falcons guard Monie’ Hudson hit a pressure-packed 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to lift the visitors to a 72-69 victory. VU (7-4) got off 3-point shots in an attempt to send the game into overtime.

John Freeman led VU with 16 points. Olukemi finished with 14 and Passley had 10. Austin Hill scored a game-high 22 and Hudson had 18 for Southeastern Illinois (11-0), which had routed VU 82-59 on November 25 on the Falcons’ home floor in Harrisburg, Ill.

VU coach David Ragland praised his team’s improvement, both in terms of execution and effort.

“We didn¹t come out on the end we wanted and we broke down late, but I was proud of the guys,” Ragland said. “We had the No. 3 team in the country, and you can make an argument that they’re No. 1. Because of our effort, we were right there. It says a lot about our potential. We haven¹t even come close to that, but we¹re making steps in the right direction.”

Olukemi hit two shots to start the second half and give VU its first lead at 34-32. A short time later, DeAntre Jefferson’s two straight baskets extended the lead to 44-40. The Falcons then scored the next 11, however, to go up 51-44.

In a bout of one-upsmanship, the Trailblazers answered with a 15-3 run of their own over the next six minutes. The blitz was partially fueled by VU’s press creating four Southeastern Illinois turnovers that the Trailblazers turned into easy points. When the smoke cleared from the VU momentum swing, the Trailblazers were up 59-54.

Things went back and forth as the Falcons’ Mohamed Ntumba and VU’s Devon Archie traded baskets and Olukemi hit a trey. After yet another Southeastern Illiniois turnover, VU’s Johnie Davis scored to give the Trailblazers their biggest lead of the night, 66-58. At that point, Hudson began to take matters into his own hands…with help from Hill. Hudson buried a 3-pointer and followed up a VU turnover with a drive and layup. Freeman and Southeastern Illinois’ Mamadou Seck traded buckets and Olukemi missed a trey before Hill drilled one from behind the arc to put the Falcons ahead 69-68.

Freeman knotted things again at 69 with a free throw and VU had a chance when Hudson missed from 3-point land and Archie pulled down the board. Archie was called for travelling, however, and Hudson drained the trey from the corner for the 72-69 lead. Passley’s 3-pointer was short, but Donald Stewart came up with the offensive rebound and VU called a timeout to set up a play with 2.9 seconds remaining. Olukemi’s attempt to tie it from the top of the key bounced off the rim as time expired.

The Trailblazers’ last game before Christmas break will be December 14 against Moberly in the St. Louis Meramec Rawlings Shootout.

Falcons 72, Blazers 69
SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS (72)
Austin Hill 7 6-6 22, Monie’ Hudson 7 1-1 18, Mohamed Ntumba 5 2-4 12, Mamadou Seck 3 3-5 9, Troy Long 2 0-0 5, DaQuon Brown 1 2-2 4, Isaac McClure 1 0-0 2, Jeremiah Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Nathaniel Mitchell 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 26 14-18 72.
VINCENNES (69)
John Freeman 6 3-4 16, J.P. Olukemi 5 3-3 14, Cordell Passley 2 6-9 10, DeAntre Jefferson 2 1-2 5, Donald Stewart 2 1-2 5, Daimion Garrett 1 2-2 5, Johnie Davis 2 0-0 4, Devon Archie 1 2-4 4, Antonio Sullivan 1 0-0 3, Chris Henderson 1 0-0 2, Chris Wyse 0 1-2 1. Totals: 23 19-28 69.

December 6, 2008

Lady Trailblazers Rout Southeastern Illinois

The Vincennes Lady Trailblazers got 21 points from Ashley Buis and 20 from Hope Elam as VU jumped ahead early and never looked back on the way to an 85-53 drubbing of the visiting Southeastern Illinois College Lady Falcons Saturday.

The Lady Trailblazers topped the Lady Falcons 68-62 on November 25 on Southeastern Illinois¹ home floor. VU has now won six of its last seven games.

MyQueisha Bratton added 17 points, 11 in the second half, and Megan Craft chipped in with 10 for VU. Kayla Kimbrew led the Lady Falcons with 14, while Allison Moore came off the bench to score all 13 of her points after halftime for Southeastern Illinois.

The Lady Trailblazers led 36-25 at halftime and then got off to a good start in the second half, thanks to 3-pointers by Buis and Bratton. By the 10:00 mark, VU was up 68-39 and cruised the rest of the way to the victory. VU hit 12 3-pointers and made 7-of-12 from the line. Buis and Bratton each had five of the treys. Craft had the remaining two from behind the arc.

The Lady Trailblazers improved to 8-5 on the season. VU¹s game schedule takes a break until Saturday, December 13, when the team travels to Park Hills, Mo., for a game at Mineral Area. After that, the Lady Trailblazers are off until January 5 when they head to John A. Logan.

LADY TRAILBLAZERS 85, LADY FALCONS 53
VINCENNES (53)
Ashley Buis 8 0-0 21, Hope Elam 8 4-7 20, MyQueisha Bratton 6 0-0 17, Megan Craft 3 2-2 10, Taylor Hunt 2 1-3 5, Katie Ahaus 2 0-1 4, Ellie Kapoulitsa 1 0-0 2, Bridget Buchanan 1 0-0 2, Kendra Gay 1 0-0 2, Kaitlin Cochren 0 0-0 0, LaTashia Dawson 0 0-0 0, Candice Cartwright 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 32 7-12 85.
SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS (53)
Kayla Kimbrew 5 4-4 14, Allison Moore 5 0-0 13, Paige Tinsley 1 5-8 8, Megan Harbison 2 3-4 7, Sade Adams 3 0-0 6, Arielle Dayberry 1 0-0 3, Breigh Macon1 0-0 2, Mallory Kelley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 12-16 53.

For more information, please contact Troy Guthrie, Sports Information Director, at 812-888-6831 or tguthrie@vinu.edu.