Railers play back-to-back before holiday break

By Jeff Benjamin

[December 17, 2010]  A weekend doubleheader of Central State Eight conference action will wrap up the Lincoln Railers' pre-Christmas portion of the season.

Coach Neil Alexander's squad looks to remain unbeaten after struggling in a 43-22 win last Friday against Rochester. The win was the 1,600th in LCHS school history. Jordan Nelson scored 14 while Christian Van Hook added 12 in a contest where the Railers held the Rockets scoreless over the second and third quarters, outscoring the Rockets 23-0 in that span.

Tonight, the 7-0 Railers will be at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium playing host to Jacksonville. Tip time is scheduled for 7:30. The Crimsons come in at 4-4 overall but are tied for the lead in the CS8 with Southeast at 2-0. Jacksonville lost their first four games but rebounded with wins in their next four to climb back up to .500. Their two conference wins have been rather comfortable: 47-20 over Rochester and last week's 30-point win over Taylorville, 54-24. For the season, the Crimsons are averaging 47 points a contest while allowing 44.

Tomorrow night, Lincoln will hit the road for a 6:30 start against Taylorville. As of Friday's publication time, the Tornadoes are still looking for their first win, starting the weekend at 0-7, 0-2 in conference play. Taylorville will travel to Lanphier tonight before hosting the Railers on Saturday night. Offense has been an issue for Taylorville so far this season, averaging just shy of 27 points a game, including four games scoring 24 or less.

This week's trivia question: As mentioned above, Lincoln's win on Friday night was the 1,600th in school history. Who were the coaches for Lincoln when the school picked up wins No. 1, 100, 500, 1,000 and 1,500 in school history? For some bonus points, in which seasons did each of those milestone wins occur?

As always, check in with Lincoln Daily News for recaps of all the Railer action.

CS8 standings

	Conference	Overall
Southeast	2-0	4-2
Jacksonville	2-0	4-4
LINCOLN	1-0	7-0
Glenwood	1-0	5-2
SH-G	1-1	3-1
Springfield	1-1	3-4
Lanphier	0-2	2-5
Rochester	0-2	0-3
Taylorville	0-2	0-7

Weekend conference schedule
(* CS8 conference game)

Friday:

• Jacksonville at LINCOLN*

• Rochester at SH-G*

• Southeast at Glenwood*

• Taylorville at Lanphier*

Saturday:

• LINCOLN at Taylorville*

• Glenwood at Rochester*

• SH-G at Southeast*

• Jacksonville at Rock Falls

• Lanphier at Peoria Central

[By JEFF BENJAMIN]

Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles