VINCENNES, Ind. -- The No. 2 ranked Vincennes University men’s basketball team concluded the non-district portion of its season with a win Saturday night.

The Trailblazers improved to 15-0 on the season with a 103-50 romp over Indiana Elite Prep inside in the P.E. Complex.

George Dixon paced the Trailblazers with his fifth double-double of the season. The sophomore registered a game-high 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds.

“George still has to do a better job of finishing but I thought he really went after the ball strong tonight,” Trailblazers coach Todd Franklin said.

Dixon missed out on an even bigger game as he misfired on 10 of 16 shots from the free-throw line.

“George came here not being able to hit a free throw in all his life, but he worked hard and got better at it and he really started knocking them down better the second half of the first semester,” Franklin explained. “There is a game or two that we do not win if he doesn’t hit his free throws. Now he comes out of the break and got out of his rhythm. He just has to get back to work.”

VU held Elite scoreless for the first six-plus minutes to start the contest with a 15-0 lead and never looked back.

The Trailblazers held Elite to just 5 of 23 shooting from the field in the first half in building a commanding 50-17 advantage at the break.

Despite the lopsided win, Franklin saw plenty of flaws in the Trailblazers game.

“Tonight I felt like we were spotty,” the VU coach stated. “But when you play at such a high level like we were (before the break) then take a couple weeks off, things like this happens. Just like a great concert pianist, when you take time off, it shows and everyone notices it. Now it’s just time to get back to work. You have to get more reps in at a high level to get sharp again.”

Lony Francis, Jr . and Kevin Kangu joined Dixon in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Kevin Osawe returned to the court for VU for the first time in over a month and contributed with eight points -- all coming in the second half.

Colton Sandage and Keith Clemons added nine points, while Craig Porter handed out eight assists and blocked four shots.

VU held a dominating 61-20 edge in rebounds for the game.

The Trailblazers return to district play on Wednesday against Olney Central. The Knights (13-1) received votes in the final National Junior College Athletic Association poll before the holiday break and are averaging 104 points per game.

“We need to come back with three great days of practice and have to get better,” Franklin said. “They (Olney) are a top 30 team and they are going to come in here with nothing to lose and everything to gain. We will have to come out amped up.”

Tip-off will be 7 p.m. Wednesday night inside the P.E. Complex.

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VICKIE PUFFER, Communications Coordinator & Online Newsroom Manager
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