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 When the teams met in November, the Railers' outstanding
shooting pushed them out to a 16-2 lead and the game seemed in hand
before you knew it. Last night, Morton was the team that sprinted
out early, held off a late Lincoln charge and then pulled away,
stunning the partisan Railer crowd. The Potters improved to 22-7,
while the Railers ended the campaign at 25-6.
Morton's main weapon of a triangle-and-two defense, reminiscent of
the tactic employed by Chicago Marshall four years ago in Peoria
against Brandon Farmer and Matt Schick, bottled up Lincoln's top two
scorers, Jordan Nelson and Nathaniel Smith. Nelson and Smith, who
combined for 55 points in the 80-52 win over Morton in November,
were held to just 13 points Tuesday night, with Nelson's first
points coming with 2:42 left in the game. That basket was shortly
after Christian Van Hook's lay-in had given Lincoln its first, and
only, lead of the night at 32-31. The Potters went on an 18-7 run
from there, allowing their season to continue, while the Railers'
season came to a much-too-early conclusion.
With the Potters determined to guard Nelson and Smith man-to-man and
playing a zone against the other three Railers on the court, Morton
also took advantage of hot shooting from the outset to build an
early double-digit lead. Up 6-2, Smith made two free throws. Those
two would be the only ones taken by the Railers on the night. The
Potters ran off nine in a row after that to end the first quarter up
15-4.
Van Hook's quick four points brought the Railers back to being down just
seven at 15-8, but Morton stayed strong in their game plan of patience on offense, using sometimes eight to 10 passes on a
possession to get the shot they wanted. Lincoln won the second
quarter but still trailed at the half 23-14.
Although things were not looking good at the time, the bright
spot is that with Smith and Nelson having only two points total in
the half and being down only nine, you had to think a normal second
half would get Lincoln back in it. There was a balance of scoring in
the first half with Jordan Gesner leading with five, Van Hook's
four, a 3 from Brant Coyne and Smitty's two from the line. The
Railers shot only 24 percent in the first half.
The Railers started the third quarter just like the second, scoring
four quick points, two each from Van Hook and Smith. After a Morton
score, Coyne's second 3 of the night got Lincoln as close as
they had been in a while at 25-21. However, every time the
Railers would draw close, the Potters had an answer, and this one was
a four-point streak of their own. Down 31-23, Lincoln made their
biggest push of the night. A bucket from Smith and then a 3-pointer from Austin Kirby with the third quarter winding down pulled
the Railers to within three at 31-28 at the end of three.
What seemed to be a theme continued in the fourth, with Lincoln
scoring the first four points of the period, all from Van Hook. The
second basket was set up on a drive and dish from Nelson, who found
the junior open on the left side of the lane for the easy two and
the first and only time the scoreboard would be tilted in Lincoln's
favor.
 The Railers' 9-0 run to take the lead, unfortunately, was quickly
answered by Morton and an 8-0 run of their own. With the Potters up
39-32, Nelson's steal and layup gave the senior his first points of
the night. Nelson then connected for his only 3 of the night to
pull the Railers to within two. They would get no closer.
Like any team that hopes to advance, the Potters fared well enough
at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, going 9 of 12.
Smith scored Lincoln's final points of the season to make it 43-39,
but time was not on the Railers' side and the season came to a
crashing halt 48-39.
A very disappointed Lincoln coach Neil Alexander summed up the
night: "I wish we could have won and played into next week," he
said. "I'm disappointed for the players and for the fans."
Going into the regional, most felt this was the toughest regional in
the state. The team that came out of Lincoln would have run quite a
gauntlet and probably would have a good shot at making it to Peoria. To many in
attendance at Roy S. Anderson, sadly, it will not be the Railers.
On the final night of the season, the Railers were led by Van Hook's
12 points, Gesner scored five, and Kirby added three. In their final
games at Lincoln, Smith finished with eight, Coyne had six, and
Nelson scored five.
As for the fan support, coach Alexander said: "I want to thank the
fans for their support throughout the year. The players do too. I'll speak for
them. Thank you."
[to top of second column]
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When the season starts, you know this article is coming, the one
that wraps up a season. You never know when and how the season will
come to an end, but if it does not end with a trophy, it is
disappointing.
With that said, I urge all Railers fans that if you want to be
disappointed, be so in regard to the outcome of the season, not the
performance and effort of the players. The young men who proudly
wear the red and green and entertain us throughout the long, cold
winters of central Illinois put in the effort and worked hard for
their school. For that, we should be proud of them.
It was another exciting season of Lincoln Railer basketball and I
hope you enjoyed the ride. In the next week or so, look for a season
recap article where I will try to get you the numbers and other
tidbits that made this, my 10th season doing play-by-play for the
Railers on the radio, as entertaining as the first nine.
There are many thank-yous that are usually poured into articles like
this, so I will try to be brief. First, thanks goes out to my wife
and daughter, who put up with me being away for games or having to
listen to my nonstop recap of the game when I get home. I
want to thank all those associated with the Railer basketball team,
including players, coaches and families. It seems you spend as much
of your winter with them as your own family, and I appreciate being
around one of the finest high school basketball programs in the
state of Illinois. Remember, you don't need a trophy to be
considered a champion.
Thanks to Lincoln AD Sam Knox, who always made sure we had what we
needed in our broadcast area. I have to make sure I say thanks to
Jim Ash and Mike Fak for allowing me to present my perspective on
the games, both on the radio and here at Lincoln Daily News.
I also want to say thanks to Tom Larey and Josh Komnick, my
broadcast partners this season. Every game I learn something new,
even if it's how many hot dogs Tom can put away in a 60-second
commercial break.
I need to say thanks to Mitch Smith, Lincoln's videographer as
well as Nathaniel's dad. He sits just to our right during home games
and many of the road contests. I can usually tell how exciting the
game was based on the numbers of bruises my arm has from Mitch's
constant excitement.
Over the years, for one reason or another, Mitch has functioned
as our engineer, bouncer, color commentator (sometimes doing so
without a mic), sign hanger and transportation provider, to name a few. The
past few years would not have been the same without him there,
always by our side.
Finally, a special thanks to the seniors -- Jordan Nelson, Nathaniel
Smith and Brant Coyne. Thank you for the excitement you brought to
us as members of the Lincoln Railer basketball team. Coach
Alexander always comments that no matter how good the basketball
players are, they are better as people To the three seniors, I'm
sure your futures will be bright in whatever you choose to pursue,
and there is no doubt you will always have a home at Roy S.
Anderson. As the school song says, "We're proud of you."
___
LINCOLN (39)
Van Hook 6-8 0-0 12, Smith 3-7 2-2 8, Coyne 2-3 0-0 6, Nelson 2-11
0-0 5, Gesner 2-9 0-0 5, Kirby 1-7 0-0 3, Olson 0-0 0-0 0. Team
16-45 2-2 39.
3-point field goals 5-25 (Coyne 2-3, Nelson 1-5, Kirby
1-6, Gesner 1-8).
Rebounds 24 (Gesner 6), assists 8 (Nelson 4),
steals 10 (Nelson 4), turnovers 13.
Morton (48)
Bisping 21, Headena 11, Lundeen 10, Swinford 4, Losen 2. Team 16-33
14-18 48.
3-point field goals 2-6 (Bisping, Headean). Rebounds 26,
assists 7, steals 6, turnovers 15. Score by quarters:
End of first quarter -- Morton 15, LCHS 4
Halftime -- Morton 23, LCHS 14
End of third quarter -- Morton 31, LCHS 28
[By JEFF BENJAMIN]
Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles
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