MT. CARMEL, ILL. – Vincennes jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back in posting an 86-50 victory over Wabash Valley in Region 24 play on Wednesday night.
WVC (13-8 on the season) did rally back to within two points, 14-12, on a Tony Burks layup at the 13:27 mark. However, the 11th-ranked Traiilblazers managed to rebuild the double-digit cushion by halftime (40-26). Then, aided by 59-percent VU shooting in the second half, the rout was on.
"Give Vincennes credit," said Warriors coach Mike Carpenter. "They were coming off a loss on Saturday (68-64 at Southwestern Illinois), and we told the guys that Vincennes would come in here breathing fire with something to prove. And, they did."
Wabash Valley never did find its' shooting touch, hitting only 31 percent of 61 shots on the night. And from the arc line, the Warriors fared even worse – just 4-of-25 for the game.
That left the large crowd in attendance rather subdued. "I appreciate all the fans coming out tonight," Carpenter said. "They were loud and just wanted something to cheer for, and offensively we couldn't give it to them."
The Warriors put only one player in double figures. Bobby Harvey led the way with 10 points.
VU (19-3) put all five starters in double figures. Freshman Randy Tucker scored a season-high 22 points. Craig Porter added a double-double on splits of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
WVC has one more home game (against Lewis & Clark, on Saturday at 6 p.m.) before embarking on a three-game Great Rivers Athletic Conference road trip, beginning with a February 5th game at the round house at Lake Land. The next home game after that is on February 15 against John A. Logan.