Trailblazers turn away Three Rivers with 89-67 win to run winning streak to 12
The Vincennes University Men's Basketball Team continued taking care of business Monday night when the NJCAA third-ranked Trailblazers dispatched visiting Three Rivers 89-67 with a late-game flurry after the 21-point VU halftime lead had been cut single digits in the second half.
VU (27-2) got 21 points from freshman Ronald Ross, while freshman Deshawn Delaney had 19, freshman Darius Carter scored 15 and freshmen Monte Burney and Kenall Vieke had 11 each off the bench. Sophomore Bryant Smith finished with eight points. Ross hit four 3-pointers while Vieke hit three from beyond the arc.
The win avenged a November loss to Three Rivers in Poplar Bluff, MO. It was also the Trailblazers' 12 straight victory.
The Trailblazers jumped out to a 20-point lead and extended it to 50-26 when Vieke grabbed the ball after a rebound was batted around at the VU end and drilled a 3-pointer with just over 1:00 remaining in the first half. The Raiders scored six unanswered points before Burney whipped a pass to Delaney for a dunk and then Smith got a hand on Three Rivers' desperation 3-pointer just before the horn for a 53-32 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Trailblazers were ahead 69-50 with 10:40 to go when Three Rivers reeled off 11 straight points over a four-minute period to cut the lead to eight before Vieke broke the scoring ice with a free throw. A short time later, Vieke hit a trey from the corner as he was fouled and hit the free throw to provide a little breathing room. VU maintained the lead, scoring bucket-for-bucket with the Raiders until about the 2:00 mark when Delaney scored inside and Burney and Ross scored in transition on a couple trips down the floor. When the dust cleared, it was 87-67 VU with less than 2:00 to go.
The Trailblazers are idle until Friday when they host Lindsey Wilson for Sophomore Night to close out the regular season. That game tips off at 7 p.m. as VU honors sophomores Smith, Raymond Lester and Arthur Williams. Sophomore members of the VU Cheerleaders, Dance Team and Pep Band will also be recognized.