Logan pulls upset at Vincennes

BY JOHN D. HOMAN
Logan Media Services

VINCENNES, IND. – The John A. Logan College men’s basketball team has a completely different look than it did two months ago. Call it the look of a winner. The Volunteers notched their sixth straight win with an eye-opening 75-64 win over the nation’s No. 6-ranked Vincennes Trailblazers (15-2) Wednesday night.
The victory ended Vincennes’ 52-game home win streak, one short of a school record. Logan, meanwhile, improves to 8-5 overall.
While there were many heroes for the Vols on this night, none shined brighter than freshman guard transfer Tre Green, who poured in a season-high 21 points.
“Tonight, it just felt like we were a better team,” Green said. “It wasn’t just me. It was a total team effort. And it feels great to get a win here on their home court.”
Three other teammates of Green hit for double figures, including Martavian Payne (13), A.J. Riley (12) and Darien Walker (11). DeVaughn Johnson also came up big down the stretch with seven points. Jordan Martin added six.
JALC trailed 28-25 at the half before going on a 16-2 run at the start of the second half and never relinquished the lead.
“We’ve got guys that can step up and make plays,” said a jubilant second-year Vols head coach Kyle Smithpeters. “All we really did in the second half was turn up the intensity on defense and started hitting more of our shots.”
Smithpeters, who played for and coached with Vincennes head coach Todd Franklin when the two were at Southeastern Illinois, said the win over his mentor was “bittersweet.”
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He helped me get my career started, but coaching against him…it’s the nature of the beast in this business,” Smithpeters said.
Logan will play at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rend Lake.