Friday, December 03, 2010
Sports News

Railers on the road at Normal West this weekend

By Jeff Benjamin

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[December 03, 2010]  After enjoying a rare Friday off in December, the Lincoln Railers will look to remain unbeaten on the season when they travel up Interstate 55 to take on the Wildcats of Normal West.

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.

Misc

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:

  • 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.

  • 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:

  • Jordan Nelson -- 6-foot-1 senior, 27.0 ppg

  • Nathaniel Smith -- 6-foot-5 senior, 12.6 ppg

  • Austin Kirby -- 6-foot junior, 3.2 ppg

  • Jordan Gesner -- 6-foot junior, 6.6 ppg

  • 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.

[to top of second column]

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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