'Better' Railer team runs past Chatham Glenwood 59-45

By Jeff Benjamin

[December 12, 2009]  Baby steps.

In Lincoln coach Neil Alexander's eyes, that may be what the Railers took Friday night in their 59-45 victory over Chatham Glenwood at Roy S. Anderson gymnasium. "We certainly played better than last week," Alexander said, "but in some areas we still have to get better and be more consistent."

"Better" certainly describes the start Lincoln had, thanks to on- target shooting, tough pressure defense, and an emotion and intensity that were noticeably lacking in a seven-point win over Jacksonville just a week before.

The Railers used a barrage of outside shooting to jump to an early 11-0 lead, including the first five from junior Nathaniel Smith. After a Titan 3 from Michael Greene, Lincoln ran off another eight in a row to take a commanding 19-3 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Glenwood's only other points in the quarter came on a T.J. Gates 3. The outstanding play of the Railers in the opening eight minutes was punctuated by a drive from Smith, who brought the ball from deep in the backcourt, stopped at the top of the key, checked the clock and stayed composed enough to drain a 3 at the buzzer to extend the lead to 22-6. All this without the second-leading scorer, Ben Brackney, taking one shot.

Ahh, more like it. Out to an early 16-point lead, shots are falling, defense is on its game, this is the way… Does anyone know what déjà vu means? Well, Dr. Vicars, my French professor at Millikin, would be glad to know I remembered that it basically translates to "already seen."

The second quarter from Glenwood looked eerily familiar to the game Jacksonville played last week. After Lincoln took the 22-6 run to start the game, the Titans (3-2, 1-1) kept taking 3s, but now they were connecting. Three in a row from Greene at the top of the key contributed to a 14-0 run for Glenwood and the 16-point Railer lead was now down to two.

Lincoln missed their next shot, giving Glenwood the chance to take the lead after such a horrendous start. Coach Todd Blakeman's crew finally missed, and Brackney hit a 15-foot jump shot for his first points of the night and Lincoln's only made basket of the second quarter. Smith added a free throw as Lincoln scored only three points in the quarter, taking a 25-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

How does a team score 22 in the first quarter and only three in the second? Coach Neil Alexander attributes some of it to the reserves in the game for some of that time. "We played eight kids tonight and they need to get that time," Alexander said. "However, this is on-the-job training for them. The only way they will learn is to be out on the court. This playing time will make them better down the road."

The game of spurts continued in the third. Junior Brant Coyne scored Lincoln's first six points of the half as both teams traded baskets en route to a 30-27 Railer advantage. Although Brackney scored only 11 points on the night, whenever Lincoln needed a big shot, the senior stepped up to the challenge.

Brackney's basket gave Lincoln a five-point lead and started them on a 16-3 run. Remember that déjà vu thing? Well, just like last week, a technical whistled against the opposing bench played a big part in the Railer run.

After a block by Coyne that Glenwood coach Blakeman thought should have been called a foul, Austin Kirby hit his second 3 of the night, forcing Blakeman to call a timeout with 2:31 left in the quarter. While both teams were assembling around their benches, enough was said from the Glenwood side for a technical to be assessed. Brackney hit one of the two free throws.

Glenwood did score from the field, but Smith, the leading scorer for the Railers on the night, hit for five more, and as the third quarter ended, Lincoln led 46-30.

It seemed the Railers (6-1, 2-0) had put Glenwood away when Cameron Turner opened the fourth quarter with his only 3 of the night. Yes, I know, I sound like a broken record, but just like in the second quarter, Glenwood put together another run, 11 in a row, to close to 49-41. However, that was as close as the Titans would get, as Lincoln closed on a 10-4 advantage to secure the 14-point win.

Last week, it was lack of intensity and emotion. That was certainly there this week, whether it was the amped-up defense, the vocal urgings of Kirby, or the back-and-forth between Jordan Nelson and Brackney and the Titans who tried to cover them.

Now, this team has shown they can get out to double-digit leads but has not been able to figure out how to keep them, let alone extend them.

Take nothing away from Glenwood, but the Railers should have been able to put them away early. We will know this team is making progress when instead of seeing 16-point leads shrink to two, the advantage will be pushed into the mid-20s.

As I said last week, a win is a win. This one was more in line with what we hope to see. Another positive from Friday night was the balanced scoring, as the five starters all scored nine or more. The night belonged to Smith, who coach Alexander said "played his best game of the season." The junior scored 14 points, led the team in rebounds (5) and assists (6), and tied with Nelson with four steals.

We know what Nelson and Brackney can do, but if Smith can do more of this, the wins will come much easier. Nelson added 12, while Brackney chipped in with 11. Coyne hit double figures for the second game in a row with 10, while Kirby hit for a career-high nine points. Turner, back from a game off due to an injury, scored the other three for the Railers.

Lincoln's next game is Dec. 18 at Taylorville, a team that has lost 41 straight conference games, including Friday night's 61-27 loss at Jacksonville. Other games in the conference saw Lanphier hold off SHG 72-67, while Springfield beat Southeast 53-50.

Remember, you can read all about the Railers after every game, right here on Lincoln Daily News.

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LINCOLN (59)

Smith 5-10 1-2 14, Nelson 4-11, 2-3 12, Brackney 4-10 1-2 11, Coyne 4-4 1-2 10, Kirby 3-4 0-0 9, Turner 1-3 0-0 3, Van Hook 0-0 0-0 0, Gesner 0-0 0-0 0, Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Cosby 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Bowlby 0-0 0-2 0, Green 0-0 0-0 0. Team 21-42 5-11 59.
3-point field goals 12-23 (Kirby 3-4, Smith 3-5, Brackney 2-3, Nelson 2-7, Coyne 1-1, Turner 1-3).
Rebounds 23 (Smith 5), assists 14 (Smith 6), steals 11 (Nelson, Smith 4), turnovers 11.

Chatham Glenwood (45)

Greene 22, Fuchs 11, Harris 4, Wenneborg 4, Gates 3, Thurston 1. Team 13-39 9-14 45.
3-point field goals 10-27.
Rebounds 29, assists 10, steals 4, turnovers 15.

Lincoln 22-3-21-13
Glenwood 6-14-10-15

Other notes:

• The Railers struggled from the free-throw line again. Their 5-of-11 performance drops their season percentage to 68 percent.

• With the win, Lincoln has now beaten Glenwood 22 of their last 26 meetings.

• Jordan Nelson's streak of consecutive 3s continues. The junior has now hit a 3 in 33 straight games.

• Nelson and Ben Brackney continued their individual streaks of double figures, but barely. Nelson's 12 gives him 11 games in a row, while Brackney gets to 10 in a row with his 11 points.

• Nathaniel Smith's 14 points puts him over the 250 career point plateau.

• The 45 points marks Lincoln's best defensive effort (points) of the season. Their previous best was against Centennial.

• The IHSA released the regional and sectional sites, as well as the teams assigned to each. Lincoln has been assigned to the Mount Zion regional along with Decatur Eisenhower and MacArthur as well as the host, Mount Zion. If the Railers win that regional, they would advance to the sectional played on the home court of the No. 1 team in the state, Champaign Centennial.

[Special report by JEFF BENJAMIN]