Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sports News

Railers take the Championship at Schnucks Classic
LINCOLN 60, MCCLUER NORTH 40
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:  LINCOLN 47, COLLINSVILLE 34

 

Send a link to a friend  Share

[December 31, 2014]  COLLINSVILLE —  Ho-hum. Another Schnucks Holiday Classic. Another Lincoln player named MVP. Another Lincoln championship. Yes, the dates on the calendar and players in the Lincoln uniforms may change, but, especially in more recent years, the results stay the same.

As they did the previous season, the Lincoln Railers swept through the 2014 version of the holiday tournament in Collinsville, winning the nightcap on Tuesday over the host school 47-34 to capture the school’s sixth title at the Classic. The six championships are the most won by any school in the tournament’s history. Lincoln leading scorer Gavin Block became only the third Railer to ever be named as the MVP and was joined on the all-tourney team by fellow senior Will Cook.

But, when it comes to teams, Lincoln truly was the all-tournament team.

“I’m really proud of these guys for how they performed this week,” Lincoln Coach Neil Alexander said. “Each guy did his part, gained confidence, and it really showed through the week. Our defense, I thought, was the key. We held some good teams to some low scores.”

Offensively, it helped to have tournament MVP Gavin Block, who averaged over 21 points per game during the four games and played some of his best basketball that Railer Nation has seen out of the Ohio University recruit.

However, the championship game did not get off to the start the Railers had gotten used to. Collinsville (6-7), a team that upset Belleville Althoff in the day’s second semifinal, came out looking more like Lincoln than Lincoln. Hitting threes, forcing turnovers, a game plan the Kahoks used to build an early 4-0. Lincoln quickly came back on an alley-oop lob to Block and a three pointer from the senior. But the Kahoks used a 12-3 run to build a 16-8 advantage near the end of the first quarter and, for the first time during the tournament, the Railers were not the team playing the best basketball on the court. Block hit three free throws but that was quickly answered by Collinsville’s Nick Gonet whose three gave Collinsville a 19-11 lead at the end of one.

Will Cook, who had been held scoreless so far in the game, stepped up. It is possible the game turned on a single offensive rebound. After a Railer miss, the rebound was tracked down and found its way to Cook. The Lincoln senior proceeded to hit three threes in a row to kickstart a 16-0 run took Lincoln’s lead out to 27-11. It was not until 1:33 left in the quarter that Collinsville scored their first points of the quarter. But it was Cook’s shooting that turned things around for the Railers.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a shooter like Will Cook,” Alexander said after the game. “I mean if he misses a shot, it doesn’t bother him and if he makes it, it doesn’t affect him. He just feels each time the next one is going to go in.”

Lincoln was looking good with an eight point lead as halftime approached but Brett Langley hit a three as time was running down to pull the Kahoks to within five at 29-24. Collinsville was staying in the game, shooting 69 percent in the first half, including 4 of 7 from three point range. Lincoln wasn’t far behind, connecting on 63 percent and half of their 12 attempts from behind the three point line.

After Jordan Perry hit a big three to start the second half, the game swayed back and forth with Collinsville closing to within six at 35-29 on a tip dunk by Emondre Rickman. Block scored the next five, culminating with a three at the buzzer that had him pumped, the Railer Nation on its feet, and his team just eight minutes from a championship with a 40-29 lead.

Block started the fourth as he ended the third, hitting another three, his 14th of the tournament, as Lincoln enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 43-29. The Kahoks made one final push, cutting the lead under double digits at 43-34, but the three with 4:06 to go would be their last. Not the best formula for making a comeback, especially against this Lincoln team. The Railers closed it out at the free throw line and as the final seconds ticked off, it was obvious this team had taken a big step towards whatever goals they may have.

The Railers had two in double figures with Block scoring 27 and Cook adding 11, all in the second quarter, just when Lincoln needed them most. Perry had two big threes for six points, Isaiah Bowers added a basket late, while Aron Hopp made one free throw.

The first game of the day saw Lincoln handle McCluer North 60-40. Although the margin was 20, it was not as comfortable as you may think. The Railers, due to foul trouble, were force to used combinations not usually seen, but as we have grown accustomed, Lincoln found a way.

[to top of second column]

Things were looking good early at Vergil Fletcher Gymnasium as the Railers built an early 8-2 lead, but that was put in check at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter when Will Cook picked up his second foul and headed to the bench. Lincoln was able to sustain the lead with Cook on the bench. Gavin Block completed an old-fashioned three point play after an offensive rebound to give Lincoln a 16-4 lead. Some of the most important play of the day may have come from junior Garrett Aeilts, who, while filling in for Cook, drained a three pointer to give Lincoln a 21-8 advantage.

Try as they might, the Stars tried to pull Lincoln into a fast-paced game. However, the Railers were able to remain composed and disciplined on both offense and defense. Block scored the first five points of the second quarter and the Lincoln lead had grown to 28-10. After a couple of Aron Hopp baskets, including a reverse layup through the wide open McCluer North (7-2) defense, things were looking good in Railer Nation, up 32-15.

The preparation of the team was about to be tested at the 3:10 mark when Block picked up his third foul, so for the rest of the half, Lincoln would be without their top two scorers, on the bench with foul issues. Panic, not the Railers, and certainly not their coaching staff. “I pulled him (Payton Ebelherr) aside and told him he had to be the big man out there,” Alexander explained. Thanks to another three from Aeilts and free throws from Hopp, the Railers’ lead actually grew with Cook and Block on the bench, up 37-17 late in the half.

Ebelherr scored his five point early in the half as the margin moved to 23 at 45-22. The final run from the Stars was just a 9-2 spurt drawing them to 49-34, but a floater in the lane and another three pointer from Block sealed the fate of McCluer North. Lincoln ran their offense as advertised and it completely demoralized the Stars. A possession in the fourth typified their efforts when the Railers ran close to 1:30 off the clock making passes and cutting, finding the open man, you know, if you’ve seen this team, what the ball movement looks like. All that effort resulted in an easy layup for Isaiah Bowers to give Lincoln the 56-37 lead and it just a matter of waiting for the final buzzer to sound.

Even in a 20 point win, Coach Alexander found a troublesome area, something that could prove an issue in a close game. “We have got to make layups, we missed some easy ones today,” Alexander said. “They don’t understand why I get upset at missed layups, but today you saw two missed layups on our end resulted in two fouls, one on Cook and the other on Gavin, fouls that shouldn’t have happened if we make layups.”

Block and Hopp were the Railers in double figures in game one, with 20 and 14 points respectively. Cook and Aeilts each added six, with Ebelherr adding five, Bowers chipping in with four, Jordan Perry hitting a three, and David Biggs with a layup at the end.

So the Railers now stand at 11-2, champions of both tournaments they have played in. There is no time to rest on their laurels as the 2015 portion of the season starts on Saturday as Lincoln travels to Normal West for a 6:30 varsity start with the sophomores scheduled to tip at 5:00pm. If you have not seen this team, it would be a good chance to see what you have been missing. If you have watched this team, but missed them at Collinsville, Saturday would be a good chance to see how this team has improved. If the improvement continues, there is no telling how high the ceiling is for this team.

Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2015.


For something different from the usual scoring recap, below are links to the box scores from Tuesday’s games:

Lincoln vs. McCluer North
https://sites.google.com/a/cusd.kahoks.org/collinsville-holiday-classic/2014/game-23

Lincoln vs. Collinsville
https://sites.google.com/a/cusd.kahoks.org/collinsville-holiday-classic/2014/game-29

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Sports index

Back to top