For Vandals, a tough loss to take

OKAWVILLE — Vandalia's 76-54 loss to Madison left a bad taste in Brian Buscher's mouth.
Simply put, Buscher wasn't very pleased with his team's performance on Tuesday during  the opening night of the 2015 Okawville Invitational.
"We struggled as a team tonight," Buscher said. "It felt like we were accepting that we were getting beat. And that's not who we are. We needed to battle. We just didn't play very good. It was between the ears tonight. I think some of the kids thought we were beat when they walked onto the floor, and that doesn't sit well with me."
The Vandals didn't play enough defense in this one, allowing 76 points, with many of those points coming in transition.
"Madison's a good team," Buscher said. "But we didn't play very well. We might have gotten worse tonight.  They didn't guard, but neither did we."
Drake Dokey scored 12 points and Richie Well had 11 for the Vandals, while Robby Lott added nine points and Nathan Casey chipped in eight.
Speedy guard Dayman Warren scored 21 points for the Trojans, hitting four three-pointers.
Madison raced out to a 13-3 lead, but the Vandals regrouped, using a 10-0 run to tie the game. Well had six late points in the first period, and the Vandals led, 17-16.
The Trojans were able to turn the game into a track meet in the second period, beating the Vandals down the floor in transition again and again. Madison used a 9-2 run to take control, leading 41-30 at halftime.
The third period was even, 14-14, as the three-pointer kept the Vandals close, as Well hit two and Dokey and Casey hit one trey apiece. Madison led, 55-44, entering the finale frame.
But the Trojans put the game away by scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter, getting hoops inside on putbacks or by beating the Vandals down the floor.
The Trojans led, 64-44, with 5:30 left in the game.
The Vandals (4-14) were scheduled to compete at the event Wednesday night. The Vandals will also play twice at the event on Saturday, with games at 12:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Madison 76, Vandalia 54
VA   17    13     14   10  — 54
MA   16    25     14   21 — 76
Vandalia: Collin Nestleroad 3 0-0 6, Drake Dokey 5 1-2 12, Robby Lott 2 5-8 9, Richie Well 3 2-3 11, Kain DuFaux 1 0-0 2, Nathan Casey 3 0-0 8, Austin Durbin 1 0-0 3, Preston Ruckman 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 (9) 9-13 54. Three-pointers: Well 3, Casey 2, Dokey, Durbin, Ruckman.
Madison:  Glover 5 0-0 10, Crowder 8 2-2 18, Deal 1 5-6 7, Allen 3 1-4 7, Warren 8 1-2 21, Haynes 5 1-4 11, Radford 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 (4) 10-18 76. Three-pointers: Warren 4.

Robby Lott scores in the lane against Madison at the Okawville Tournament.