Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sports News

SHG stuns Railers 65-52

By Jeff Benjamin

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[February 12, 2011]  For the first three quarters of Friday night's contest at Roy S. Anderson, both SHG and Lincoln were locked in a good old-fashioned, back-and-forth high school basketball game. Unfortunately, for the Railers, SHG kept up the back while Lincoln couldn't keep up the forth, and SHG stunned the Railers 65-52, continuing the Railers' struggles against Springfield teams.

On a day when the pairings were released by the IHSA, laying out every team's potential map to Peoria, the Railers exhibited play that will not get them out of their own regional come tournament time.

If there was anything being done on Friday night, SHG did it better. Whether it was shooting, rebounding, defending, hustling, you name it, the Cyclones had "the look," while Lincoln just looked bewildered.

In a game that had the biggest margin at four points through the first three quarters, it looked like another nip-and-tuck Friday night battle in the CS8. Lincoln's largest lead came at 29-26, while SHG's was at 8-4. But the fourth quarter... oh, the fourth quarter.

SHG led 45-44 going into the fourth. The lead was at one after Lincoln senior Jordan Nelson converted a turnover into a layup as time expired in the third. Most in attendance were hoping this would be the point of the game when the Railers' defense would take over. Instead, it was really the final highlight of the night as the final eight minutes were dominated by SHG.

The Cyclones hit 7 of 11 shots in the quarter, including three of four from 3-point range, to outdistance the Railers 20-8 in the quarter and pick up win No. 18 on the year.

SHG is now 11-4 in the conference, good enough to bypass Lincoln for second place. The Railers dropped to 10-4 in Central State Eight play, only half a game ahead of fourth-place Lanphier.

Lincoln coach Neil Alexander was just as shocked by his team's performance.

"We've got to play defense and we have to play with effort," Alexander said. "We also can't depend on just two players to score -- if we do that, then we're going to lose a lot of games." Alexander was referring to Nelson (19) and senior Nathaniel Smith (24) scoring 43 of the team's 52 points.

Nelson, who last week scored 27 of his school-record 48 points in the fourth quarter, was held scoreless in the fourth on Friday night. Smith had 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

Only four other players scored for the Railers and it was well spread out. In the first quarter, Brant Coyne (2) and Austin Kirby (3) had their only points of the night. Christian Van Hook's only basket came in the second quarter. After Smith and Nelson took care of the scoring in the third, Jordan Gesner scored Lincoln's last basket late in the game on a layup that did nothing but change the final margin.

Coach Alexander's frustration not only revolved around Friday night, but also looking ahead to the ultimate goal.

"This is the time of year you want to be playing well, but right now, we're heading in the wrong direction," he said.

In regard to the regional at Lincoln with SHG, Springfield, Lanphier and Morton, Alexander said: "Any one of the five teams could win this regional."

More games like Friday night, and the Railers will be watching someone else celebrating at midcourt.

The one-point losses, last-second shots, the overtime games, those hurt, but you can take a little solace in knowing you had a chance -- you know, if one play or another were different, then maybe the outcome would have been reversed. Friday night, Lincoln's fifth loss of the season (21-5) was without a doubt their most disappointing. It was enough to cause a true rarity to occur. Midway through the fourth quarter, a large number of Railers fans were making their way to the door. Giving up too early?

Well, we've seen the spurts and runs this Railer squad can go on, but on this night, there never was that feeling that it was coming. In fact, Lincoln's only true run came down 8-4 when they scored seven in a row to go up 11-8. Other than that, SHG controlled the pace of the game from opening tip to final buzzer.

Earlier this season, the Railers seemed to go through a lack of confidence. In January, there were two one-point losses around a big win at Southeast as well as a four-point win over Kankakee that was closer than it should have been.

 [to top of second column]

There was Glenwood week, when the Railers never seemed challenged other than that first half against Taylorville. Things seemed to be turning back on course, especially with another win over the Spartans and a big win over Lanphier.

Now, having lost consecutive games, the Railers will try to find whatever it is to get the ship headed back in the right direction. There are some certainties: The Railers have at least five games left and maybe as many as 11. Effort like Friday night and we'll be a lot closer to seeing the seniors take off those uniforms for the final time.

The Railers were led by Smith's 24, just two off his career high. Nelson finished with 19, while Kirby scored three. Gesner, Coyne and Van Hook each added two.

The Railers are back in action on Saturday, taking on Decatur Eisenhower. The Railers beat the Panthers 42-32 on the first day of the Collinsville Holiday Tournament. Tip time for the varsity is scheduled for 7:30.

Other conference scores from Friday:

  • Lanphier 71, Glenwood 59

  • Springfield 57, Jacksonville 45

  • Rochester 53, Taylorville 38

___

LINCOLN (52)

Nelson 8-16 2-4 19, Smith 9-13 4-4 24, Kirby 1-6 0-0 3, Gesner 1-3 0-0 2, Coyne 1-2 0-0 2, Van Hook 1-3 0-0 2, Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Podbelsek 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Hays 0-0 0-0 0, Krusz 0-0 0-0 0. Team 21-43 6-8 52.
3-point field goals 4-18 (Smith 2-4, Nelson 1-5, Kirby 1-6, Gesner 0-1, Coyne 0-1, Van Hook 0-1).
Rebounds 17 (Smith 6), assists 11 (Smith 4), steals 10 (Nelson 5), turnovers 9.

SHG (65)

Sergent 20, Williams 14, Sestak 9, Holmes 9, Eagleton 7, Bland 4, Boggs 2. Team 26-45 3-3 65.
3-point field goals 10-21 (Sergent 6, Holmes 3, Eagleton).
Rebounds 26, assists 15, steals 7, turnovers 12.


Score by quarters:

End of first quarter -- LCHS 13, SHG 10
Halftime -- LCHS 29, SHG 28
End of third quarter -- SHG 45, LCHS 44

___

IHSA pairing information

  • Game 1, Monday, Feb. 28 -- No. 4 Morton vs. No. 5 Springfield

  • Game 2, Tuesday, March 1 -- No. 1 Lincoln vs. winner of Game 1

  • Game 3, Wednesday, March 2 -- No. 2 Lanphier vs. No. 3 SHG

  • Game 4, Friday, March 4 -- Winner of Game 2 vs. winner of Game 3 (championship)

All games at Roy S. Anderson begin at 7:30, and season passes cannot be used for admission to the regional games.

[By JEFF BENJAMIN]

Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles

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