Monday, January 10, 2011
Sports News

Railers down Southeast 63-58

By Jeff Benjamin

Send a link to a friend

[January 10, 2011]  SPRINGFIELD -- Ahhh, that's more like it.

The Lincoln Railers rode 72 percent shooting in the first half while holding the homestanding Spartans to just 29 percent over the first 16 minutes en route to a confidence-building 63-58 win over Southeast. With the win, the Railers improved to 13-2 (4-1 in CS8 play) on a regular season that has reached its halfway point.

No one was quite sure what Lincoln's emotions would be just one night after dropping a stunner to Springfield High at home. It was evident from the beginning that the previous night's game was not on the minds of the players and their total focus was on the Spartans.

Seniors Nathaniel Smith and Jordan Nelson combined for 46 points on the night to break a string of losses to Southeast that seems to have stretched back years. It was Nelson's hot shooting that propelled the Railers to the early advantage, hitting three 3s as part of his 12 points in the first quarter, helping Lincoln to a 14-7 lead at the end of one.

Austin Kirby's 3 to start the second quarter continued a 15-3 Lincoln run as the Railers jumped out to a double-digit lead at 17-7. Another Nelson 3 pushed the lead to 25-10. It was at that point that Southeast scored on consecutive possessions for the only time in the half, cutting their deficit back to 10 at 25-15. Enter Mr. Smith.

Misc

The senior scored his first four points of the game by being aggressive to the basket, both scoring and getting fouled and hitting his free throws. Smith led in rebounding on the night with six boards for the Railers, who outrebounded Southeast 28-25.

Smith finished the half with seven, and the last 3 put a dagger in any momentum the Spartans were hoping to carry into the locker room at the half. After scoring late in the quarter to cut the Railer lead to 35-22, the Spartans did nothing to stop Smith from driving downcourt, pulling up just to the right of the top of the key and draining a 3 as time expired, bringing the Railer Nation in attendance out of their seats.

If there was to be a 16-point lead at the half, there weren't too many who would have given the Railers a chance of being the ones holding it.

However, this was not a situation the Spartans were unaccustomed to being in. Southeast has faced double-digit deficits in three of the last four games so they were very familiar on how to come back. Southeast made a big push at the beginning of the third and, halfway through the quarter, the Spartans had carved the Lincoln lead in half at 42-34.

The Railers did not panic. They got back-to-back scores from Nelson and Brant Coyne, getting the lead back to 12. A basket from Christian Van Hook was the only other Lincoln scoring until the end of the quarter that saw the Railers up nine, 48-39.

The fourth quarter belonged to Smith. "Smitty" was not to be denied inside, showed strong physical play and showed some of the emotion exhibited by all the players, an emotion that showed everyone at Scheffler Gymnasium that, on this night, they would not lose. Smith scored the first nine points of the quarter for Lincoln, the biggest coming at the 6:08 mark.

With Southeast back to within eight at 50-42, Smith went up strong on the inside, hit the shot and got fouled. After converting the free throw, Lincoln was back up double digits at 53-42. The game continued to go back and forth as Southeast started to find their shooting eye from long range. After the Spartans hit three in a row, the lead was cut to five at 57-52.

One area Lincoln where has not been up to its usual standards so far this season is from the free-throw line, coming into the contest hitting only 67 percent on the season. Part of the success the Railers have at the line as a team is getting the ball to the right players at the right time.

On Saturday night, those players were Nelson and Smith. The seniors converted the last six free throws, and no matter how hard Southeast tried, this one was going to go in the win column for the Railers.

Even though Southeast hit two more 3s, they could only watch as Smith held the ball out of bounds after their last make, not risking the inbounds, and listening to the horn sound on their unblemished conference mark (10-4, 5-1).

[to top of second column]


One thing Railer fans know is that if you live by the 3, you can die by the 3. On nights when Lincoln struggles from long-distance, everything seems off balance. On this night, Southeast's leading shooter, Herman Senor, had his own struggles, scoring only five, going 1-10 from beyond the arc.

It was good to get this win as this team needed some confidence. A double-loss weekend would not have helped. The fact the win was over Southeast -- well, that may mean a little bit more than if the win was over someone else.

The Railers were led by Nelson's game high of 26, while Smith scored 20. Kirby added nine, while Coyne and Van Hook chipped in with four each.

So, was this the full 32 minutes Lincoln coach Neil Alexander has been looking for?

"Well, we had a few lapses where we took some bad shots," Alexander commented, "but this was a much better team effort."

Internet

That was the key: This was a TEAM effort. Lincoln ran their offense, was willing to pass up 3s to step in a few feet or find a teammate who had a better shot, played tough defense and was willing to stand up and say we're not going to be pushed around.

Halfway through the regular season, is this the team that will show up each night? Only time will tell, but, if it does, this team may still have some special things yet to do.

Lincoln's next contest will be Friday night at SHG. It's back to the regular starting time with the tip scheduled for 7:30. If you're planning on going, make sure you get there early as SHG fans like to pack the gym and hold down the attendance from the visitors, especially those from Lincoln.

___

Lincoln (63)

Nelson 7-13 7-8 26, Smith 5-8 9-12 20, Kirby 3-4 1-3 9, Coyne 2-3 0-0 4, Van Hook 2-2 0-0 4, Gesner 0-1 0-1 0, Krusz 0-1 0-0 0, Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0. Team 19-32 17-24 63.
3-point field goals 8-16 (Nelson 5-9, Kirby 2-3, Smith 1-2, Coyne 0-1, Gesner 0-1).
Rebounds 28 (Smith 6), assists 13 (3 tied with 3), turnovers 13.

Southeast (58)

Gardner 18, Davis 13, Fleming 7, Jacobby Anderson 6, Senor 5, Williams 5, Jagger Anderson 3, Smith 1. Team 19-49 12-22 58.
3-point field goals 8-27 (Gardner 3, Jac. Anderson 2, Senor, Fleming, Williams).
Rebounds 25, assists 8, turnovers 5.

Score by quarters:

End of first quarter -- LCHS 14, Southeast 7
Halftime -- LCHS 38, Southeast 22
End of third quarter -- LCHS 48, Southeast 39

[By JEFF BENJAMIN]

Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles

< Sports index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law & Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health & Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor