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With seniors Jordan Nelson and Nathaniel Smith absent from the
evening’s festivities, the Railers were able to not miss a beat both
offensively and defensively. For most teams, going into battle
without 60 percent of your scoring might be rather daunting. Friday
night, the Railers showed that, although they missed their
teammates, this squad is not just a two-man band.
Coach Neil Alexander, forced to adjust his
starting lineup, as well as his usual game substitution pattern,
chose Jake Olson and Christian Van Hook to round out the normal
starting five. It didn’t take long for Van Hook to make an impact.
After Jacksonville turned the ball over after
winning the opening tip, the junior got the Railers on the board
with an alley-oop dunk on a perfect lead from Olson. Another
Crimson turnover saw Lincoln lob over the defense on the inbounds
pass to Van Hook who made the catch and the lay-in and before
Jacksonville fans had settled into their seats, the Railers got off
to the good start they needed at 4-0. Junior Austin Kirby’s three
pointer from just beyond the top of the key pushed the run to 7-0,
forcing Crimson coach J.R. Dugan to call a timeout.
After Van Hook’s quick offensive start, the
junior got into some early foul trouble, picking up two fouls in a
four second span with just about two minutes gone in the game.
Van Hook was on the bench for the rest of the
first half and the Crimsons were able to get their first three
points of the game with him on the bench. It appeared Jacksonville
was much more comfortable with Van Hook on the bench.
Fortunately, the Crimsons were in the holiday
spirit and continued to give the ball away, 20 turnovers for the
game, and the Railers took advantage. Spurred on by senior Brant
Coyne’s six point run, Lincoln ran off a 14-0 run through the first
quarter and early into the second.
The run included the first varsity basket for
freshman Max Cook. Cook, taking advantage of his playing time in
the absence of Nelson and Smith, scored six in the contest and led
the team in rebounds with five.
Offense was at a premium in the second quarter
as the teams combined for only 10 points. By halftime, Lincoln
(8-0, 2-0) had stretched their margin to 15 at 23-8. For a team
forced to use players that had not logged any varsity minutes and
those usually on the court with the decision well in hand, it was
hard to tell any moments where this team missed a beat. “I thought
we played hard tonight,” Coach Alexander said. “We hustled and
really got after it.” The crowd at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium,
watching the Railers win their 11th in a row at home, saw some
rarely seen game quintets, but effective none the less.
There was no drought of three pointers, thanks
to the shooting of Jordan Gesner and Kirby. Gesner, the evening’s
leading scorer with 14, scored Lincoln’s first eight points of the
third quarter, including two baskets from long range, while Kirby
hit twice from beyond the arc in the game. After Cook’s basket at
the end of the third, the Railers were up 33-14 and the game seemed
in hand.
Jacksonville’s only double digit quarter of
the night, the fourth, saw the Crimsons (4-5, 2-1) score 10 of their
24 points but they were never able to get closer than 17 in the
period. It wasn’t only the turnovers that bothered Jacksonville.
When they were able to get the shots off, they were contested,
blocked, influenced, and flat out missed.
Coach Dugan’s troops finished at 27 percent (7
of 26) for the game, while the Railers hit 43 percent (18 of 42).
The Railers did commit 14 turnovers of their own, but it would be
understood. “We made some silly passes and got pressured, but all
in all, with the experience we had out there, we really played well
tonight,” Alexander surmised.
Gesner’s 14 points led the team. After an
early four, Van Hook scored six as did Kirby and Cook. For his
first varsity minutes, Cook looked very comfortable but, according
to Alexander, “the effect of the speed of the game was obvious.
He’s gone from 8th grade to a few sophomore games to this. It’s
much different.”
[to top of second column] |
Coyne’s six points were part of an overall
strong performance from the senior, with Coach Alexander calling his
play on Friday “big.” Olson added a three, while Matt Hays gave the
team good minutes and scored on an inside basket.
Andy Krusz played and did not score, but his
willingness to take on the physical play down low was important as
Jacksonville played very intimidated at times. Another player
getting his first minutes of the season was Will Podbelsek. The
sophomore did what was asked of him as well.
Would I have been surprised to know that
Lincoln won by 19? Not at all. Under these circumstances?
Absolutely. However, it’s another reason why it’s easy to contend
Lincoln has one of the best coaching staffs in the state. It is not
the type of thing one can prepare for, but when it came to be,
everyone stepped up and the team reaped the reward.
Lincoln’s next contest will be tonight at
Taylorville. It will be the first road game in conference play and
will have a different starting time. The sophomore game is
scheduled to start at 5 with the varsity ready to go at 6:30. The
sophomore squad will look to sweep the weekend after an overtime win
on Friday night, 54-50.
Lincoln (43)
Gesner 5 0-0 14, Van Hook 3 0-0 6, Kirby 2 0-0
6, Cook 3 0-0 6, Coyne 3 0-0 6, Olson 1 0-0 3, Hays 1 0-0 2, Krusz 0
0-0 0, Podbelsek 0 0-0 0. TEAM 18 0-0 43. 3-point field goals 7 (Gesner
4, Kirby 2, Olson).
Jacksonville (24)
Dugan 6, Peak 6, Lonergan 2, Pate 2, Kuo 2,
Hance 2, Jones 1, Mills 1, Kording 1, Keene 1. TEAM 7 8-13 24.
3-point field goals 2 (Dugan 2)
End of 1st quarter – LCHS 18, Jacksonville 3
Halftime – LCHS 23, Jacksonville 8
End of 3rd quarter – LCHS 33, Jacksonville 14
Other conference scores:
Southeast 60, Glenwood 33
Lanphier 86, Taylorville 52
SH-G 51, Rochester 32
Trivia answer:
* In yesterday’s preview, I asked who the
coaches were when Lincoln won games number 1, 100, 500, 1000, and
1500 in school history.
* #1 – William Handlin (1913-14)
* #100 – Roy S. Anderson (1926-27)
* #500 – Paul Johnson (1955-56)
* #1000 – Loren Wallace (1983-84)
* #1500 – Neil Alexander (2006-07)
[By JEFF BENJAMIN]
Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles
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