Logan basketball squads fall at home to Vincennes

CARTERVILLE -- Unable to score a bucket for the first 12-1/2 minutes of the game, the John A. Logan College men's basketball team fell hopelessly behind sixth-ranked Vincennes and lost, 85-67, at home Wednesday.
"We weren't very good at getting the one and done tonight," said JALC head coach Kyle Smithpeters. 
The Trailblazers outrebounded Logan 31-27 and hauled in 11 offensive boards that often led to stickback points. 
"We need a little better leadership from our guys when things get tough," Smithpeters said. "We can't be a country club team. You can't just sit out there and fire threes. When it gets tough, you've got to be dogs. I thought we were way too relaxed early on tonight and I take complete blame for that."
The Vols converted only 4-of-23 shots from the field, including 1-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half in falling behind 41-24. 
Logan never got any closer than 13 points the rest of the way. 
Leading scorer for the Vols was freshman Jayden Scrubb with 18 points. Vonnie Patterson followed with 15 points. David Sloan and Jordan Cousin each tallied 11. Only Scrubb, however, shot above 50 percent on the night (7-of-13).
Vincennes was paced by Keith Clemons' 26 points. Kevin Kangu dropped in 17 and Lony Francis Jr. added 14.
"This is why you play games like this early -- to test yourself," Smithpeters said. "We can bounce back from this."
Logan, now 4-1, will open Great Rivers Athletic Conference play next Tuesday at Kaskaskia College in Centralia. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
In the women's game, the Lady Vols had pretty much the same problems as the men and lost to Vincennes, 78-51. They trailed 37-18 at the half.
Logan could only convert 21-of-69 shots from the field (30 percent). Leading scorer was Emily Holmes with 13 points. Johnecia Kyles checked in with 12 and Lyric Campbell tacked on 11.
Four players reached double figures for Vincennes as led by Jaynice Stovall's 14 points.
The Logan squad is now 3-2 overall on the season and will host Three Rivers (Missouri) at 1 p.m. Saturday.