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 In an odd statistical oddity, Lincoln’s final 23 points of the
game came from either behind the three point line or at the free
throw stripe, including their last 11 points. It was a night that
was won from 15 feet away as Lincoln hit 20 of 23 attempts from the
free throw line with Block leading the way going 15 of 16 as he
accounted for half of the team’s points on the night.
The Railers were forced to play catch up after Joliet’s Darius
Stokes connected for three early three pointers, a fact that did not
set well with the coaching staff. “He (Stokes) was our number one
mark on the board,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said. “We knew he
was their shooter and we didn’t find him early.”
After the Steelmen (12-12) took the 9-5 lead on the shooting of
Stokes, Block’s offensive rebound and putback drew the Railers
within two. Aron Hopp hit three of four free throws around a Joliet
basket as Lincoln closed the deficit to just one at 11-10. However,
despite Stokes, it was inside where the Railers were giving up the
most opportunities. Joliet seemed to get the ball inside at will
and, when they did, made Lincoln pay. An offensive rebound as well
as another put over the front of the rim by Jose Grubbs pushed the
Joliet lead to five at 15-10. Hopp was able to close the quarter on
a good note for Lincoln as his basket off an offensive board just
beat the first quarter horn and Lincoln trailed by just three at
15-12.
 With the lead back at five for Joliet, things looked like they might
be turning for the Railers. At the 6:44 mark, Stokes picked up his
second foul as he made contact with Block shooting a three. Stokes
went to the bench while Block knocked down all three attempts. A
three from Kewon Ware negated Block’s three free throws only to see
Lincoln’s leading scorer give Railer Nation a case of déjà vu as he
was fouled again shooting a three and again sank all three shots to
pull the Railers back to 22-20.
Give credit to Joliet. While playing without their best shooter,
they were able to extend the lead by going on a 10-3 run. Lincoln’s
only scoring in that segment was a corner three from Cook, one of
four on the night. “They played really well, they were disciplined,”
Alexander said. “They shot pretty well and didn’t miss many chances
to get rebounds. We were told they don’t play in front of many fans
so I’m sure they were pretty pumped up.”
The Railers were able to grab some momentum as the half closed as
Cook sank two more from long range and Lincoln trailed by only six
at the half 32-26. It was the start of Lincoln’s own 13-0 run, a
stretch that would allow them to take the lead and never give it
back to the Steelmen. A reverse layup and then drive to the basket
by Block extended the run and put the Railers back in front at
33-32. It would also mark the final time in the game Lincoln would
score a two-point basket. Block ended the run with a three pointer
and the Railers pushed the advantage to 36-32.
 Stokes and Lincoln’s Jordan Perry traded threes a couple times down
the court with Malik Fuller hitting from 15 feet to cut the Railer
lead to two as the game headed to the fourth quarter and the home
team up 42-40.
Will Cook got the fourth quarter going in good fashion by hitting a
three pointer. With Lincoln up 45-40, it was the last field goal the
Railers would make for the contest. A convention three-point play by
Grubbs pulled the Steelmen back to within two. Throughout the
contest, the Steelmen would not go away. A pair of free throws by
Payton Ebelherr put Lincoln up four only to watch Joliet’s Kenyon
Woodfork score followed by a steal and score by Taquan Sims and the
game was knotted at 49. Block’s free throws were answered again by
another inside score from Woodfork, evening the game at 51.
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Block’s next trip to the line saw him split a pair, leaving the
Lincoln lead at just one, but the Railers were able to thwart
Joliet’s next possession leading to Block going back to the line.
After he hit both, Lincoln moved up by three at 54-51, but again not
enough to keep Joliet at arm’s length as Sims hit a three from the
top of the key to tie the game at 54. It was now just a matter of
getting a good look in the game’s final moments. Lincoln called a
timeout with 10.6 seconds to set up the potential game winner. With
the ball in Block’s hands, he drove the lane and was fouled on his
shot attempt in the lane. Although Lincoln was headed to the line,
the 5.5 seconds left was too much. “We went way too early with the
last play,” Alexander said. “We stress to not give them time for a
shot but 5.5 seconds is way too long.”
After Block hit both free throws, Joliet inbounded the ball to Sims,
who found Jerry Gillespie. Gillespie drove to the sideline where he
attempted a three in front of the Joliet bench. However, his shot
never had a chance as Cook was able to get a hand on the shot and
the ball feel way short as time expired and Lincoln survived by two.
A long three game week was over, with two of those games too close
for comfort. As the season winds done, there is still room for
improvement. “Right now, there are two main things we have to do,”
Alexander explained. “Our defense has to get more solid and we have
to learn to take care of the ball. Too many unforced turnovers.”
The Railers were led by Gavin Block’s 28 points with Will Cook
adding 12. Jordan Perry hit three threes for nine, Aron Hopp scored
five, and Payton Ebelherr hit two free throws.
 So now, the regular season is down to just one week. The Railers are
next in action on Tuesday night as Lincoln will take on Southeast.
The Spartans are fresh from their win over Glenwood on Friday night
that allowed the Railers to take a one game lead over the Titans for
the conference lead. You have to believe the Railers will be ready,
wanting to make sure their conference fate stays in their control.
Game time is set for 7:30 at Scheffler Gymnasium. LINCOLN (56)
Block 6 15-16 28, Cook 4 0-0 12, Perry 3 0-0 9, Hopp 1 3-5 5,
Ebelherr 0 2-2 2, Bowers 0 0-0 0. TEAM 14 20-23 56. 3pt FG 8 (Cook
4, Perry 3, Block).
JOLIET CENTRAL (54)
Stokes 15, Grubbs 9, Ware 8, Sims 7, Fuller 6, Woodfork 4, Bingham
3, Jordan 2. TEAM 22 1-1 54. 3pt FG 9 (Stokes 5, Ware 2, Sims,
Bingham).
LCHS 12-17-13-14 56
JOLIET CENT 15-17-8-14 54
[Jeff Benjamin]
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