VINCENNES, Ind. -- The Vincennes University Men’s Basketball team grinded out a 66-42 win over a scrappy East Mississippi team in the final game of the Sodexo Classic inside the PE Complex Saturday night.

The win moves the No. 6 Trailblazers to 5-0 on the season.

The Trailblazers offense struggled to the tune of shooting just 33 percent from the field, but the defense limited EMCC to just 26 percent shooting.

“It’s never a pretty game if the ball does not go in but the pretty thing tonight is we held them to 42 points tonight,” Trailblazers coach Todd Franklin said. “We did not let (the missed shots) affect us defensively.”

After a sluggish beginning and a 7-5 lead nearly four minutes into the game, the ‘Blazers went on a 15-5 run for a 22-10 lead with 8:08 left in the first half. The Lions were not able to trim the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.

The Trailblazers carried a 35-22 lead into the locker room at the half.

The second half became a battle at the free throw line.

As EMCC stayed within shouting distance, the Trailblazers put the game away late at the charity stripe.

VU connected on 15 of 22 free throws in the second half, including 9-for-10 in the final three minutes.

For the game, the Trailblazers finished 25-for-34 from the stripe.

Freshman Cardell McGee scored 13 points in the game thanks in large part to making 8 of 9 freebies.

“He hit some big free throws for us down the stretch,” Franklin said. “He is still just a freshman who is playing up and down, but he had mostly positives tonight. Those free throws and a couple by Lony (Francis, Jr.) put it away. They were going to have a hard time getting back in it anyway, but those free throws were big.”

George Dixon tied McGee for game-high honors with 13 points to lead four VU players in double figures.

Francis and Keith Clemons both added 11 points.

Francis and Dixon pulled down eight rebounds apiece as the Trailblazers edged EMCC on the glass 37-32.

The Trailblazers hit the road on Wednesday at District 16 foe and No. 19 ranked John A. Logan.

The Vols defeated East Mississippi on Friday night and routed Lincoln Land earlier on Saturday.

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