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 The Railers (5-0) wrapped up a perfect week last week by winning their own
Eaton/Lincoln Round Robin Tournament while the Wildcats finished
2-2 in the City Tournament at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center.
Due to the Central State Eight now consisting of nine members,
Lincoln does not have an opponent for the first Friday of
non-tournament action. Normal West will be playing the second of a
back-to-back weekend, traveling on Friday to take on Champaign
Central. In fact, the matchup with Lincoln will be West's first true
home contest of the season.
The Railers come in after playing 4 1/2 good games. The
only exception was the first half against Danville. What early on
seemed like a certain victory was chipped away at, and thanks to a
half-court shot just before halftime, the Vikings trailed by only
one. A few halftime adjustments, a little more tenacity and the
Railers came away with a 22-point win in the finale. Lincoln's two
main scoring threats in the tournament, seniors Jordan Nelson and
Nathaniel Smith, were both named to the all-tournament team. They
look to continue their good start, both offensively and defensively,
in order to keep Lincoln in contention for a No. 1 seed at the
upcoming Collinsville Holiday Tournament.
Lincoln will most likely be looking to stop West's Austin Stewart.
Stewart was the only weapon for West in their most recent game, a
48-34 loss to Normal U-High on Monday. He finished with 15 points
and 12 rebounds.
Other things to know:
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Both Smith and Ben Brackney scored their career highs against West last
season. Brackney's 42-point performance was the third-best in school
history, while Smith connected for 22 points.
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Jordan Nelson (1,445) is just 33 points behind Seymour Reed for
fourth on the all-time scoring list. Nelson is also just 21 behind
Gregg Alexander's 281 3s for the all-time lead in 3-pointers
made.
Probable starters:
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Jordan Nelson -- 6-foot-1
senior, 27.0 ppg
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Nathaniel Smith -- 6-foot-5
senior, 12.6 ppg
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Austin Kirby -- 6-foot
junior, 3.2 ppg
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Jordan Gesner -- 6-foot
junior, 6.6 ppg
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Brant Coyne -- 6-foot-5 senior, 5.4 ppg
A side note:
Now, if I may, a few moments of your time. The Sunday school classes
at the church my family attends, First United Methodist Church, have
chosen the Nothing But Nets mission as their project for the months
of December and January. For those of you who don't know, the
Nothing But Nets mission provides mosquito nets to families in
countries where malaria is a serious threat. The nets, which cost
$10 each, are placed around the sleeping areas of family members and
give protection from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. I could go more in
depth, but I invite you to visit their website for the latest and most
straightforward information. The website is
www.nothingbutnets.net.
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You're probably wondering how you and I play into all this.
Well, here goes. I would like to issue a challenge to the Railer
Nation as well as those who read the articles on Lincoln Daily
News and listen to the broadcasts on WLCN-FM 96.3 and
www.wlcnonline.com. I would like to see how much we can raise to
contribute to this cause. Nothing But Nets. That name and
basketball seem to go hand in hand.
Here's the plan. For those who would like to contribute, I
would like for you to decide how much you would like to pledge
for every 3-point basket made by the Lincoln Railers in the
month of December. If things go right in Collinsville, the Red
and Green will play eight games during the month. So you know, last
December in seven games, the Railers drained 67 from behind the
line. It really is whatever you feel you can give. If this isn't
the charity or cause you would like to support, that's OK. Maybe
next time.
As for me, yeah, I'm going to put my money where my mouth and
heart are. For every 3-pointer made by Lincoln this
December, I will be pledging $1. Now, that may not sound like
much, but if they shoot at a pace like last year, we'll have a
good start to getting some nets.
If you would like to contribute, please contact me as soon as
possible so I can begin getting information from you on how to
collect your donation at the end of December. Once all the money
is collected, I would like to present the total amount to the
Sunday school classes on behalf of everyone involved. You can
contact me through Lincoln Daily News, and the kind folks there
will forward your information to me. Also, you may reach me at
my own e-mail of jeffnjoetta@yahoo.com.
So, that's it. I thank you for your time and appreciate any
consideration you may give to this matter. I look forward to
hearing from you, and, oh yeah, one more thing...
Go, Railers!!
[By JEFF BENJAMIN]
Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles
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