Railers look to notch 1,600th win tonight

By Jeff Benjamin

[December 10, 2010]  OK, all you math majors. Is it possible for 1,500 to equal 1,600? Think about that for a moment.

 The Lincoln Railers try to continue their undefeated season tonight by playing host to Central State Eight newcomer Rochester. Varsity game time is scheduled for 7:30, with the sophomore game tipping off at 6. Lincoln enters at 6-0, while the Rockets are looking for their first win of the season after dropping their previous two contests.

This will not be the first time for Rochester to pay a visit to Roy S. Anderson. The Rockets were part of last year's Eaton Electrical Round Robin Tournament and did not fare very well, losing all five games, including a 69-47 defeat at the hands of the Railers.

Lincoln has been off since last Saturday's 59-41 win over Normal West, while Rochester has played both of their games in the last week. Their inaugural CS8 matchup was a 47-20 loss to Jacksonville. On Tuesday, Pleasant Plains came away with a 50-37 win. Rochester is still trying to get their basketball legs under them after winning a state title in football.

All signs point to this game being one that is not analyzed by if Lincoln will win, but by how much. The Railers seem to have too much firepower, both offensively and defensively, to allow Rochester to hang around for very long. As the season wears on, the Rockets will get better. However, that will not start tonight.

Now, back to our opening math question. 1,500 = 1,600? Hmmm, Jeff must have had some bad split pea soup. Well, not really. Go with me on this one. Lincoln senior Jordan Nelson is only 27 points away from 1,500 in his career. The question for tonight is, based on the perceived margin, will he play enough to get an opportunity to score that much?

Now, Nelson did score 28 against Normal West on Saturday and all those points came in the first three quarters. So, will he be in long enough to get a shot at 1,500 in front of the home fans?

The other side of the equation will happen. The next win by the Railers will be No. 1,600 in the history of Lincoln boys basketball.

Now, is my odd way of thinking making sense? Can Nelson's 1,500 equal win No. 1,600 in LCHS history? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Also, according to the Railer website, www.railerbasketball.com, the students are talking about "wearing white" for tonight's game, so come dressed appropriately.

I'd also like to throw out a trivia question. Hopefully, this will become a regular part of the Friday preview. I'll give you a chance to think it over and give you the answer in the Saturday story. Oh, let's be on the honor system (i.e., no peeking at the Railer program).

This week's question: With tonight being Lincoln's first conference game of the season, in the 17 previous Central State Eight seasons, how many different Railers have been named to the CS8's all-conference team?

Let's see if you can do as well as Joel Vinson. Major kudos go out to Joel who, on his first shot, missed only two. On second try, he picked up the other two. There are some obvious names, but some might be a little obscure.

Other things to know:

• Of the returning players from last year's contest, Jordan Nelson scored 19 and Nathaniel Smith added 11.

• By playing tonight, Nelson will tie Ben Brackney for seventh in games played with 103.

Probable starters:

• Jordan Nelson -- 6-foot-1 senior, 27.2 ppg

• Nathaniel Smith -- 6-foot-5 senior, 12.2 ppg

• Austin Kirby -- 6-foot junior, 3.0 ppg

• Jordan Gesner -- 6-foot junior, 6.3 ppg

• Brant Coyne -- 6-foot-5 senior, 5.2 ppg

Other Central State Eight games:

• Lanphier at SH-G

• Springfield at Southeast

• Taylorville at Jacksonville

[By JEFF BENJAMIN]

Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles