Sunday, December 07, 2014
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Railers handed 52-47 double overtime loss

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[December 07, 2014]  SPRINGFIELD —  Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A team rides consistent outside shooting in the first half, forces its opponent into 15 turnovers, and steps up at the free throw line by not missing after the third quarter. Yes, a lot of Lincoln wins have used that very formula.

Unfortunately, the Railers were handed a dose of their own medicine on Saturday night. Jacksonville’s James White and Brady Hays combined to shoot 8 of 13 from three-point range, the Crimson defense rattled the Railers, and Jacksonville was a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime to hand Lincoln a 52-47 double overtime loss in the nightcap of the Capital City Showcase at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield.

In a game very reminiscent of the other Lincoln loss this season, a defeat at the hands of Mahomet-Seymour, it just seemed like something was missing from the beginning of the game. “We did not play with any energy tonight,” a dejected Coach Neil Alexander said after the game. “This team cannot do that. We have to play with energy every night if we want a chance to win.”
 


Throughout much of the first three quarters, it felt as though every loose ball ended up with Jacksonville or every rebound came down in the hands of the Crimsons. It just didn’t feel like Lincoln basketball on Saturday night. The one bright spot was a 15-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters that saw the Railers fight back into the lead after trailing by double figures. However, it is possible the energy used in that spurt may have expended much of what was left in the tank and the Railers fall to 4-2 on the young season.

“What, we’ve already played six games,” Alexander queried. “And two of those have been bad games? We can’t have that. That just is unacceptable.”

In a case of déjà vu, the Crimsons’ last win over Lincoln came in the first weekend of December of 2012, the 7th, and needed overtime for the two-point win. After Will Cook put the Railers on the board with a three, the Crimsons broke out their three point shooting to jump out to an 8-3 advantage. Lincoln answered back with a Gavin Block alley oop from Jordan Perry, a free throw from Payton Ebleherr and two more from Aron Hopp. Each time Lincoln would climb back to even, one of Jacksonville’s shooters would answer back. A three from Hays gave the lead back to the Crimsons (3-2), but Cook’s second of five threes on the night tied the game at 11.

A drive and basket from Zac Lonergan put Jacksonville up 13-11, but the game was knotted by two free throws from Block. Down 15-14 with 17 seconds left in the first half, Coach Alexander called a time out to get Block back on the floor. The senior picked up his second foul with 2:24 left in the half and, after biding some time, Block had gone to the bench to avoid picking up his third in the half. As time ticked down, the Railers attempt to score before the half looked more like a football game as Ebleherr and Block both drew heavy contact in the lane before the ball ended up in the hands of Hopp. The junior’s basket with three seconds left gave Lincoln its first lead, 16-15, since the first basket on the night.



So, if you wanted to look at the “glass half full” scenario, you have the lead at the half and your most experienced player and leading scorer has only one field goal in the first 16 minutes. Block’s points came on just five shots from the field along with going three of five from the line.

The game turned in the third quarter when Hays and White combined for four threes while Lincoln could not buy a basket. The Crimsons stormed to a 16-3 run to stretch out to a 31-19 lead over the Railers. Bad shots? Unlucky shots? Turnovers? Yes, the third quarter had all of the above for Lincoln and the frustrating thing about the turnovers was the cause.

“We had 15 turnovers,” Alexander said, “and they really didn’t pressure us. They were unforced errors. We are not good enough to play like that. If we play like this, any of the teams in this conference will beat us.”

Give the Railers credit. They could have given up but I’m not sure they know how. Starting with two free throws by Block, earned after battling for an offensive rebound, Lincoln showed they were worthy to be the pick of the CS8 coaches in a preseason poll. Lincoln got closer after Block found a leaking out Hopp whose layup cut the deficit to 31-23. A layup by White pushed the lead back to ten, but the game’s momentum was about to take a mighty swing. After a Jacksonville turnover, Block’s steal put him in position to knock down a three pointer with three seconds to go in the quarter. As the teams headed to their respective benches, the Railers had lessened the gap and were down only seven at 33-26.

[to top of second column]

A floater in the lane and another three from the All-Stater Block got the game to a single possession and when Cook hit a three with 5:05 to go in regulation, the Railers had fought all the way back to take a 34-33 lead. The lead was short-lived however as a pair of free throws and another basket from Hays put Jacksonville up 37-34. Ebelherr found Block on the back door to cut the margin to one and after a Crimson score, Cook tied the game at 39 with a three-pointer with 2:42 to go. Hard to believe that would be the final scoring of regulation as both teams went could, although Lincoln ran a great deal of time off the clock, but could not get the good shot to take the lead.

Lincoln quickly went up in the first overtime on a drive by Hopp. Jacksonvile then tied and took the lead only to see freshman Isaiah Bowers contribute his biggest basket in his short career. After miss after miss on the offensive glass, the ball fell into Bowers’ hands who knew exactly what to do with it. His lay-in tied the game at 43. Things were looking good with about a minute to go when Ebelherr scored on an inbounds pass at the basket, but Riley Dugan evened the score again with an easy basket. Again, both teams had their chances, but one overtime would not be enough with the score tied at 45.
 


It took some time for anyone to score in the second overtime, but Block’s free throws with 2:32 left put Lincoln up 47-45. As he had done all night, it was White connecting for his final three to put the Crimsons up for good at 48-47. Lincoln’s last best chance may have come with 43 seconds to go when Block was fouled, but missed the front end of the one and bonus. Fouled on the rebound, Jacksonville’s Jonny Peak would go to the line and hit two free throws. Again, the Railers just could not get the big shots to fall most of the night and the second overtime was no exception as their only points came from the free throw line. Two more free throws with 24 seconds to go rounded out the scoring and Jacksonville headed back to Morgan County with a surprising five point win over the Railers.

Lincoln was led by a game high 19 points from Block, with Cook matching his career high again with 15 points. Hopp added eight, with Ebelherr scoring three and Bowers contributing a basket.

The Railers will now prepare for the home conference opener as the Rochester Rockets will make a call to Roy S. Anderson on Friday night, the only contest this week for Lincoln. Rochester comes in off a 45-44 win over SHG earlier in the day on Saturday in Springfield. The rest of the conference opener scores were: Springfield 44-40 over Glenwood, Eisenhower falling in their first ever CS8 game by one to Lanphier 52-51, and MacArthur getting the win over Southeast 55-50. If the first night is any indication, this could be one of the most competitive and unpredictable CS8 seasons ever. Five games decided by a total of 16 points with the largest margin being five.

The coaches’ poll picked Lincoln to win the CS8 and just because they dropped the first game does not mean bad things are on the horizon. But I would buckle that seat belt because it is going to be an interesting ride.

LINCOLN (47)

Block 5 7-10 19, Cook 5 0-0 15, Hopp 3 2-3 8, Ebelherr 1 1-2 3, Bowers 1 0-0 2, Perry 0 0-0 0, Aeilts 0 0-0 0. TEAM 15 10-15 47. 3- point FG 7 (Cook 5, Block 2).

JACKSONVILLE (52)

Hays 17, White 14, Peak 7, McCombs 6, Dugan 4, Lonergan 2, Brannan 2. TEAM 16 12-14 52. 3-point FG 8 (White 4, Hays 4).

LCHS 6-10-10-13-6-2 47
JACKSONVILLE 8-7-18-6-6-7 52

                                                  [Jeff Benjamin]

 

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