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This is a kid who is NOT the MOST
athletic kid in the gym. He may not be the strongest or the quickest
player you’ll ever see. But, you will find few players ever that
want to win as bad as he does! He led a group of outstanding
teammates to the junior high championship game and then a few years
later, as a sophomore, led a great group of Railers to the Elite
Eight for the first time in nearly 20 years. I haven’t seen a lot of
basketball resumes, but I’ve been around long enough to tell you
that few players have those kinds of accomplishments in their
portfolio. Oh… and he shoots the ball pretty well on occasion, too!
[Photo by Tom Seggelke]
In fact, Wednesday night in Normal
before 5,121 patrons he was back to his same old pesky self. After
he and his Redbirds had struggled through the first few games of the
year, they were in a must-win situation. Gregg had that "look" that
I have become so accustomed to over the last several years. During
the first five minutes of the game I knew by looking at Gregg, he
was NOT going to let his team lose on this night.
Alexander finished the night with 15
points and continues to crash the boards as hard as any guard you’ll
see. He brought down another five last night. Gregg also continues
to warm back up from the perimeter, as he went three-of-four from
beyond the arc.
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If those were the only stats you saw on
the game, it wouldn’t even be close to describing how Gregg
encouraged, motivated and pushed his teammates all night long. After
good execution on offense, he would be running back down the court
imploring his squad to get a defensive stop. And when they would get
one, he’d push for another. Then he started diving on the floor
after every loose ball. The hustle, hard work and effort plays began
to catch on with the other Redbirds, and the next thing you knew you
had a 74-50 blowout on your hands.
This is the
kind of effort that, as a fan, I’d like to see out of every player
for a full 40 minutes. I’m sure glad that the kid from Lincoln is
the role model for basketball the way it should be played --
executing, defending, producing and… willing your team to victory!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
[See ISU game report below]
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Illinois State (1-6) also had
Gregg Alexander
in double figures. He tallied 15 points, including a three-for-four
performance from beyond the arc. Baboucarr Bojang finished with a
game-high eight rebounds, while the 'Birds had three other players
score eight points each.
The Redbirds were able to get their
interior game on the right track, outscoring the Dolphins 36-12 in
the paint. The Illinois State defense also played exceptionally
well, keeping Jacksonville without a field goal for over seven
minutes in the second half.
[Photo by Tom Seggelke]
Jacksonville (4-6) was led by James
Daniels with a game-high 18 points, coming from six 3-pointers,
which tied his career high. Daniels was the only Dolphin in double
figures. Kevin Sheppard and Calvin Warner contributed nine points
each.
Things looked bleak early on as the
Redbirds came out flat, connecting on only two of their first 10
shots from the field and falling behind 12-6. However, Greene's
back-to-back jumpers sparked a 10-2 run that helped give the 'Birds
their first lead of the game, at 16-14 with 10:39 remaining before
halftime.
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Illinois State shot 60 percent
(12-for-20) for the remaining 13 minutes of the first half, led by
10 points from Alexander, including two 3-pointers. Greene finished
the first half with six assists, and the Redbird defense was able to
force 10 Jacksonville turnovers.
The second half was all Illinois State
as the Redbirds outscored the Dolphins 39-24, including a 26-6 run,
and forced nine turnovers to take their largest lead (30) of the
season, at 68-38 with 6:29 remaining in the game.
The Dolphins attempted 31 3-pointers
and finished with more made 3-pointers (10) than 2-pointers (eight).
The Redbirds
continue their season with another home contest, against Northern
Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 21. The game is slated to begin at 2:05
p.m.
[Erica Fricke, assistant
director of media relations, Illinois State University]
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Brian Cook continued his domination of
non-conference foes by hitting for a double-double Saturday in
Illinois' 70-54 win over Temple. All Cook did was to lead all
scorers with 25 points. He also led all rebounders with 11 and may
have led all vendors in popcorn sales for all we know!
The greatest thing about his most
recent performances is the leadership he has brought this team. I've
read that he isn't a vocal leader and therefore is not doing his job
in that capacity. Give me a guy who can score and rebound any day --
that's plenty of leadership for any ship that I'm on!
Now it's time for some of his teammates
to step up and share some of the load. It will be interesting to see
how many people dive off the Cook wagon when he has a bad game or
two. And it will be interesting to see who steps up for Illinois and
rescues us on the days Cook can't.
Maybe it will be Dee Brown. Awakened
from his first-half slumber, he shook some of the Owls out of their
trees for 15 second-half points, and he was the only other Illini in
double figures.
Illinois only shot a season-low 43
percent. You will read in other outlets how Temple's tough zone
confused the Illini. However, IF you've ever been to the United
Center, YOU know that it is a difficult place to shoot! IF you don't
believe me, ask Michael… and I don't mean Abbott! MJ remarked many
times how he missed the friendly rims and bounces of the old Chicago
Stadium and was not all that enthralled with the background, rims or
any of the UC's nuances for that matter.
On the other hand, we have warned
several times right here that we're not sure that this Illini team
is shooting the rock as well as past teams have shown. But there's
plenty of potential and plenty of time for this Illinois bomb squad
to heat up; and we're hoping that they do it at just the right time.
The Illini did hold Temple to 29
percent shooting with some pretty good "D," but refer to the above
for another factor in their demise! Illinois did convert on an
amazing 19-of-21 free throws. Thanks to the entire team for reading
about the need to improve in that category right here in the LDN!
The Orange and Blue also out-rebounded Temple 38-37.
All it does is get tougher from here on
out, as Illinois' next two opponents are Missouri and Memphis. Don't
be fooled by MSU's big loss at Columbia… They'll be much tougher in
the Pyramid! And Mizzou is so due Saturday… I'd love to see us shut
them down again!
Railers
survive!
And I mean that in EVERY sense of the
word. Coach Neil Alexander and his staff have lulled me into a false
sense of security. I may be as bad as some of his players in this
respect. I know that we'll find a way to win. But you sure had to
search long and hard for it Saturday night versus a vastly improved
Kankakee ball club.
I've heard of slow starts, but this
game may have even taken the cake for the slowest start ever. There
were possibly six turnovers on the first seven possessions. We put
the "UG" in "ugly!" But somehow Lincoln was only down by a bucket at
halftime, thanks to an acrobatical half-court 3 drained by Chris
Bunch! That momentum buster may have been enough to turn the tide,
as we don't think the Railers trailed the rest of the night.
But they did hang on for their lives.
Kankakee kept chipping away, and LCHS kept missing their free throws
and took a few ill-advised shots until it was a one-point game. Cory
Farmer then hit a big front end of a one-and-one, and his miss
bounced around until time ran out as Lincoln found that way to a
two-point win, 66-64.
But this is a mark of a special team --
they get outplayed by a team with tremendous athleticism and still
find ways to beat you. IF that's not GREAT coaching, then I don't
know what is!
The Railers also drubbed Taylorville
this weekend, 71-23.
Mount
Pulaski chops down another giant
The Hilltoppers keep knocking down
giant after giant. After dethroning last year's Class A state
champion Pleasant Plains squad, they next tackled No. 15-ranked
Riverton. And even though they had a guy go off for 34 points, it
wasn't enough. Mount Pulaski ran its record to 7-2 with a 70-59
upset. Next up is a home battle with Clinton tomorrow (Tuesday)
night.
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 Lady Lynx
rolling too
The Lincoln College Lady Lynx are
rolling right along. Two more victories this weekend put them at a
sparkling 11-3 including a nice 75-50 romp over Meramec.
Angels
not as fortunate
The LCC Angels hit another snag in the
road, losing to Grinnell 73-49. Former Lady Railer Brittany Robbins
continues to lead the way for Lincoln.
Lynx,
Preachers going through a tough stretch
LC lost a 72-69 squeaker to Rend Lake,
and LCC took two losses this weekend at the Taylor University
tourney, losing to the hosts 73-52 and to Tri-State University
103-77. But tough competition for both teams now will make them more
battle-ready when conference and postseason play gets here.
We commend all of our area coaches for
playing such tough schedules!
ISU loses despite Alexander's 18
ISU lost at Western
Kentucky 63-43 yesterday. Lincoln's Gregg Alexander led all scorers
with 18 points. (Click
here for game report.)
Lady
Railers lose a heartbreaker
Lincoln's Lady Railers were hoping to
get another win under their belts. But they were denied on Saturday
afternoon as Quincy won a hard-fought 54-49 overtime contest in
Lincoln.
Bears win
again
Just when you leave them for dead, the
Chicago Bears step up and rise from the dead. The last few weeks all
anyone would talk about was how improved the Jets were with Chad
Pennington at the helm. But after the Bears won 20-13 Sunday in
Champaign, we're not hearing as much talk. Check the incomparable
Greg Taylor's story on the
game!
Sam
White's making some noise
How 'bout the game Sam White of LCHS
recently rolled? The senior Railer put up a 289 to go along with
another 600-plus series. Sam would like to possibly continue his
bowling career at Western Illinois University.
White, who is a student manager for the
Railer basketball team, took his accomplishment in stride. He told
the LDN that he fully expects to improve and that a perfect 300 game
looms on the horizon.
He is a recent addition to the list of
some great student managers, including Adam Butts, Stacy Willis,
Jamie Graack, Ryan Gleason and Colby Elkins. Not to mention Brian Boyer, a longtime
member of the managing crew who always did a good job for the team
-- when he wasn't pickin' on coach Aeilts! And what can you say
about Jake Sheley? Other than the fact that he has been terribly
misguided into supporting that crazy Duke program (do you know how
many national titles Self could have won with that kind of talent?),
he's been a pretty good manager through the years. He's now taken
his managerial act to Illinois Wesleyan, where he's parlayed it into
a FREE trip to Hawaii -- definitely a guy following in Greg Taylor's
footsteps!
IF YOU were ever a Railer manager for
ANY sport and have a story YOU can tell, please
contact us here at
the LDN. We try to never leave any stone unturned here and
appreciate ANYone and EVERYone who has ANYthing to do with our young
people! You managers, stat and scoreboard/book people make ALL the
games more enjoyable for all of us. THANKS from the LDN for all you
do. We do take notice!
"FANdamonium"
…has been fun the last two weeks as you
amaze us with your answers to the trivia questions! We've got lots
to talk about: the Illini, the Railers, the Bears, just to name a
few. So, hit the LIVE LDN link
or tune your radio to FIX 96.3 FM or your TV to Channel 5 and join
Greg and me tonight at 6!
And "Happy
Birthday" to the best little local sport I know, who just turned 2
on Sunday. He called me his buddy this week, and therefore he's my
player of the week!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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