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 For much of the night, the Railers struggled to find any rhythm on
the offensive end, only captured one offensive rebound and made just
one three-pointer. Despite all that, Lincoln found a way to do
enough on the defensive end, holding Jacksonville to single digit
scoring in all four quarters. The Crimsons shot only 27 percent and
never led, but it wasn’t until late that the Railers were able to
cement away the win.
Looking to get a win over a Jacksonville team that shocked Lincoln
in the conference opener back in December, the Railers got on the
board early on a layup from Hopp after a steal and feed from Payton
Ebelherr. Lincoln extended their lead on an alley-oop lob to Block.
Another basket from Hopp after driving the baseline put Lincoln up
6-1. Hopp, who seemed to be able to get to the basket at will, was
actually going against the plan the coaching staff had devised at
the outset.
 “We actually wanted Hoppy to shoot some threes,” Lincoln Coach Neil
Alexander said after the contest. “His guy was camped in the lane
and wasn’t coming out on him, so we needed him to shoot. He shot a
couple but he also hesitated some as well. But, he’s a hard matchup
for anybody.” After a Johnny Peak basket for Jacksonville, their only field goal
of the first quarter, Block scored Lincoln’s next four points to
stretch the lead to 10-3. It was a lead that could have been
extended but the Railers were unable to execute their play set up
for the end of the period and did not get a shot.
Block continued his scoring streak on a perfect lob pass from Isaiah
Bowers down to the senior and the Railer lead was up to nine. A
Crimson score brought them to within seven at 12-5, but it was time
for another Railer to go on a scoring streak. Hopp hit a pair of
free throws before he scored on a layup after the Jacksonville
defense left the lane wide open. After a steal by Will Cook, Cook
drove the lane and a nice no-look pass found Hopp on the low block
for an easy lane in and the Lincoln lead had grown to 18-5. A basket
from Brandon McCombs closed out the first half bringing the Crimsons
back to within 18-7 at halftime.
Funny thing, though. It just felt like Lincoln was up by 15 to 20
points. It was a very uneasy feeling.
Jacksonville, playing without Brady Hays, the leading scorer from
their first matchup, was still in the game. They just had to figure
out to get some shot opportunities.
 Hopp, who along with Block, were the only two Railers to score in
the first half, got Lincoln on the board in the second half with a
lay-in after a tip away by Ebelherr. McCombs scored again for the
Crimsons (8-10, 3-5), but that was answered by an eight-foot floater
in the lane by Cook to put Lincoln up 22-9. The offensive struggles
for the Railers continued while Jacksonville started to fight their
way back. Joe Brannan hit a three pointer and then another jumper
for five quick points to pull the Crimsons to within eight points
and when McCombs scored again, the Lincoln lead had dwindled down to
six.
One of the cornerstones of Lincoln basketball is the three point
shot. Even on the nights when they have had “off” nights from long
range, they will usually hit four or five. That offense from behind
the arc has been hibernating lately. Over the past four games,
counting Monday night, Lincoln has made two, one, seven, and one
three pointers. Usually the seven would be the norm, but it has been
the exception. However, on Monday night, the one three that was made
may have been the biggest shot of the evening.
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As the third quarter was waning, Jordan Perry’s three from the left
side pushed the Lincoln advantage grew back to nine at 25-16. There
are a lot of areas where quality trumps quantity and the three from
Perry was not the lone “only” for Lincoln. As the fourth quarter
started, Block grabbed the Railers’ only offensive rebound for a
putback to increase the margin to double digits again at 27-16.
Surprisingly, it would be the last field goal for the Railers. This
one would have to be won at the free throw line.
Jacksonville continued the hang close drawing back to 27-20 after
another score from Brannan. Block split a pair of free throws only
to have Riley Dugan cut the lead back to six at 28-22. From there,
it was success at the free throw line that kept the contest in the
win column for the Railers. Over the final 1:40, Lincoln hit seven
of eight free throws to secure the win. Cook started the parade
hitting both with 1:40 left, while Block hit five of six in the last
minute to get the win.
“It’s a good thing they were without their leading scorer from the
first game,” Alexander said, “or I’m not sure what would have
happened. We would have been in trouble.”
Only four players hit the scorebook on Monday. Block led with 16
points and 8 rebounds, with Hopp adding 12. The junior did not score
after sitting out a portion of the second half after going down hard
under the basket, but did return in the fourth quarter. Cook scored
four with Perry hitting the big three. Bowers, although not scoring,
chipped in with a team-high three assists.
The round robin tournament continues Wednesday night at Eisenhower
High School in Decatur as the Railers will take on a team that has
had recent tournament success. The Rochester Rockets, recent winners
of the Sangamon County Tournament, will be the opposition. Game
time, just like Monday night, is scheduled for 5:00pm.
LINCOLN (35)
Block 5-9 6-8 16, Hopp 5-10 2-2 12, Cook 1-5 2-2 4, Perry 1-3 0-0 3,
Ebelherr 0-1 0-0 0, Bowers 0 0-0 0 Aeilts 0-1 0-0 0. TEAM 12-29
10-14 35. 3pt FG 1-12 (Perry 1-3, Cook 0-3, Hopp 0-2, Block 0-3,
Aeilts 0-1).
JACKSONVILLE (25)
McCombs 7, Brannan 7, Dugan 6, Baker 3, Peak 2. TEAM 9-33 5-6 25.
3pt FG 2-13 (Baker, Brannan)
LCHS 10-8-7-10 35
JACKSONVILLE 3-4-9-9 25
[Jeff Benjamin]
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