|
 Mike Chandler had the only two baskets for Southeast in the extra
session, although he may as well have been heading to Buffalo with
all the shuffling he was doing. Lawrence Thomas and Jacobby Anderson
hit all four of the free throws for the Spartans after going only 9-of-20 from the line in regulation.
Kyle Young scored the only points for the Railers in overtime, a
layup to tie the game at 57 and then a meaningless 3 at the
buzzer to provide the final margin.
Lincoln can look at missed
opportunities as to why this one ended up in the loss column.
Southeast turned the ball over four times in the final 90
seconds of regulation -- and free throws, oh, those free throws.
Lincoln came into the game hitting on 74 percent of their free
throws, including 83 percent over their last six games. However, in the fourth quarter and overtime, the free-throw line
turned into the Bermuda Triangle as they connected on only three of 10
charity tosses. If you take away the pair from Jordan Nelson, the
others at the line hit only one of eight (Schonauer 1-4, Brackney 0-2,
Young 0-2) in the final 12 minutes.
"We talk about it every year that free throws will win you four or
five games a season and, tonight, this should have been one of
them," a disappointed Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said after the
game.
What also had to be disappointing was the fact the team
squandered a 13-point lead that had actually grown to 16 before
Southeast mounted their comeback.
"We had a 13-point lead at the
half and then come out and just give them a layup to start,"
Alexander said. "It didn't take long for the momentum to go their
way."
Heading into the contest, it was obvious there was a definite
contrast in styles: the Railers willing to be patient on offense,
while Southeast likes to get up and down, with the more shots, the
better.
You would have thought the roles reversed in the first
quarter as the Railers (19-3, 9-1) jumped out to early leads of 6-0
and 16-4.
Senior Kyle Young scored eight of Lincoln's first 11
points and seemingly had no equal down low. His teammates made every effort to find him when available, and
he delivered.
Once Young had established himself on the inside,
it was the long-range shooting that took over, and the Railers' final
three baskets all came from behind the arc (Schonauer, Nelson and Brackney), pushing them out to a surprising 22-9 at the end of the
first quarter.
The other first-quarter key was holding down conference scoring
leader Lawrence Thomas. Thomas did not mark the scorebook until
early in the second quarter and went into halftime with only four
points.
However, Thomas scored seven in the third as the Spartans
(14-5, 9-1) began inching closer to Lincoln. After the Railers took
their biggest lead of the night at 41-25, Southeast closed the
quarter on a 7-2 run to find themselves down by only eight heading
into the fourth quarter.
Kyle Young scored two baskets wrapped around a Southeast bucket to
keep the Railer lead at 10. Southeast then scored seven in a row,
and 12 of the next 14, to tie the game at 49. Southeast took their
first lead of the night at the 2:12 mark, 51-50, and Lincoln was
never able to get back in front.
Overtime was forced when Jordan Nelson hit a 3 from well
behind the top of the key to knot the game at 55. The Railers had
one more possession, but a missed shot from Ben Brackney turned into
a Southeast rebound that almost resulted in a miracle finish on the
more-than-half-court fling that hit the front of the rim.
The speed and quickness from Southeast was difficult for the Railers
to handle, especially in the second half. The Railers were also
forced into many offensive predicaments where spacing became an
issue, allowing the Spartans' speed to be that much more effective.
The game was also physical, maybe too physical, as a lot of rough-and-tumble play was allowed down low, but simple hand-checking was
whistled. Listing all the odd/questionable calls would take up a lot
more space on this site than the server may be able to handle.
[to top of second column] |
All that being said, it was a game the Railers could have won and
should have won.
There are seven games between now and the regular-season finale at home against these same Spartans. I'm sure a lot of
fans have already circled their calendars.
However, I'm also sure the Lincoln coaching staff won't let the
team look that far ahead. When asked if this is the type of game
that could carry over to Saturday's tilt versus Canton, coach Neil
Alexander refreshed all our memories: "Well, it carried over last
year and look what happened," a reference to the Railers' 42-33 loss
last season at Canton, the day after a contest with Southeast.
Kyle Young led the Railers on Friday night with 21 points, followed closely
by Jordan Nelson's 19. Ben Brackney was the only other Railer to
score in double figures, with 12. Louie Schonauer added four, while Wes Neece and Kyle Frick each added a basket.
The Lincoln JV also had a tough night, dropping a 64-37 game in the
evening's opener.
Lincoln will be in action again on Saturday as Canton comes to Roy
S. Anderson gymnasium. The contest is scheduled to tip around 7:30
p.m. and, as always, you can catch the game on WLCN-FM 96.3 and here
at
lincolndailynews.com.
___
LINCOLN (60) --
Young 8 4-6 21, Nelson 7 2-2 19, Brackney 5 0-2 12, Schonauer 1 1-4
4, Neece 1 0-0 2, Frick 1 0-0 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0.
Team 23 7-14 60.
3-point FG: Team 7 (Nelson 3, Brackney 2, Schonauer,
Young).
Jacksonville (63) --
Thomas 17, Anderson 16, Chandler 15, R. Smith 5, Doss 4, Crawford 2,
Kincaid 2, Hill 2.
End of first quarter -- LCHS 22, Southeast 9
Halftime -- LCHS 33, Southeast 20
End of third quarter -- LCHS 43, Southeast 35
End of regulation -- LCHS 55, Southeast 55
[Special report by JEFF BENJAMIN]
|
