Sunday, January 25, 2015
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MACARTHUR 53, LINCOLN 44

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[January 25, 2015]  LINCOLN —  The members of Railer Nation filed out of Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium on Saturday in an understandably bittersweet mood. On one hand, the Railers had won the 2015 version of the Central State Eight tournament. However, and maybe more importantly, Lincoln found themselves on the wrong end of a 53-44 final score and no longer in first place in the conference.

So Lincoln lost but won the tournament? Thanks to MacArthur’s nine point win, the Railers, Generals, and Glenwood ended in a three-way tie for first with 4-1 records in the week-long tournament. The first tiebreaker is total free throw percentage during the tournament which gave Lincoln the championship, but to just about everyone involved, it didn’t feel like a championship night.

“You got to feel for those guys,” Coach Neil Alexander said after the game referring to MacArthur. “They just played their hearts out, beat us, but we get the championship. I’m not sure. It seems there should be a better way to decide it. Maybe you just declare the teams tri-champions and leave it like that.”

As for the Railers, it was not a good night. Everything seemed out of sync whether it was the offense not finding a rhythm, the defense allowing too much dribble penetration, the inability to keep the Generals off the boards, just about everything was not in the plus column on Saturday night. There are not many times you see Lincoln be the victim of a 29-13 run over the last quarter and a half. Simply put, from tip to buzzer, MacArthur was the better team. If you want an idea of how numbers can tell a story, look no further than the rebounds where MacArthur almost double Lincoln on the boards, outrebounding the Railers 35-18.

The Generals’ Terry Bond scored seven of his game high 19 points in a 9-1 run to start the fourth quarter that allowed the quests to take the lead for good. The last time MacArthur visited Roy S. Anderson, they forced the Railers into overtime before falling in last season’s regional championship. On this night, they wanted to make sure the outcome was different.

Decatur’s Keymonta Johnson started the scoring by scoring on an offensive rebound. It was a sight that was prevalent throughout the night as the Generals were many times presented with multiple opportunities on missed shots. Lincoln’s Will Cook, who has struggled from the floor the past six games, hit a three pointer to get the Railers on the board. Jordan Perry hit a three to give the Railers the lead at 6-3. Bond, who scored all of his points in the first and fourth quarter scored five straight to give the advantage back to MacArthur at 8-6. Lincoln took the lead back on an inside score from Gavin Block and an 18 footer from Isaiah Bowers. More damage was done from the outside as Bond and Dallas McClain hit threes to give Decatur the 14-10 lead.

Lincoln tried to draw closer as the quarter came to an end, but Cook’s three was blocked and the Railers trailed after one. The Generals (15-5, 9-2) stretched the lead to six with a quick score from Kamari Jones. The Railers were able to take the lead with one of the quietest 9-0 runs in recent games. Block started with a three pointer and scored again down low off a nice pass from Bowers. Block and Aron Hoppe pushed the lead to 19-10 with both hitting a pair of free throws. Again, a 9-0 run, but there seemed no enthusiasm in getting there.

The lead didn’t last long as McClain drained the first of his three threes to tie the game at 19, the score each team took to the locker room. It was the first time all season the Railers were even at the half.

Both teams traded the lead in the early portion of the third quarter. Hopp put Lincoln up 21-19 down low on an assist from Payton Ebelherr only to have Jones answer back with a three to swing the lead back to Decatur. Block, who finished with a team high 15 points, drove down the lane to take back the lead, but two free throws from Johnson gave the Generals a 24-23 lead.

Senior Will Cook stepped up to hit two threes, one from each side near the top of the key to put the Railers up 29-24 and when Block jumper from 17 feet went down, there was a sense that Lincoln would be able to sustain to momentum and build on the 31-24 lead. But it was McClain again who connected from long range to start the MacArthur comeback. After a free throw from Block, all things turned to Decatur.

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A hook shot by McClain and a bucket from Bond cut the Lincoln lead to one at 33-32. Ebelherr split a pair of free throws, but it was Bond and McClain that continued to hurt the Railers. Bond tied the game at 34, then a basket from McClain and another three from Bond had Decatur up 39-34. There was certainly a sense of “what was happening?”

Cook brought Lincoln (17-4, 8-3) close with his fourth three of the evening but inside baskets from Jones and Johnson pushed the margin back six at 43-37. Hopp, who scored Lincoln’s final seven points, scored on a lay-in but again it was Bond and McClain scoring four in a row to get the lead to eight for the Generals. Down 47-41, after a scramble for the ball, Hopp grabbed the loose ball, laid it high off the glass and was fouled as the basket went down. With 59 seconds to go, Hopp’s free throw cut the lead to three. From there it was all good for MacArthur and nothing went right for Lincoln. After Lincoln’s final attempt went off to the side, it was Bond who provided the fitting finish for Decatur by throwing down a dunk and the Generals and their fans were able to celebrate the win.

Was it fatigue by playing 5 games in the past 8 days? Well, each team had to do that. MacArthur used their quickness and had a bit more want-to on the night, a fact that was proved out on the scoreboard.

Block led the way with 15 points, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Cook added 12 points, while Hopp scored 11. Perry chipped in with three, Bowers had two, while Ebelherr scored on a free throw. At the end of the night, Hopp was named to the all-tournament team while Block was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, an award he also won back in 2013. He is the third player to win a pair of MOP awards (Jordan Nelson and Glenwood’s Peyton Allen).

So, the loss drops Lincoln behind MacArthur in the conference, ends their winning streak in the tournament, and puts them in a near must-win scenario in a couple of weeks when they travel to Decatur. If Lincoln drops the contest to the Generals, you are probably looking at the Railers falling out of a chance to pick up the one seed in the regional.

The Railers finally get a chance to rest as they are not in action again until Friday night when they travel to Willard Duey Gymnasium to face off with Springfield. Varsity tip time is scheduled for 7:30 with the sophomore starting the night at 6:00pm.

LINCOLN (44)

Block 6-15 2-3 15, Cook 4-10 0-0 12, Hopp 4-8 3-3 11, Perry 1-2 0-0 3, Bowers 1-2 0-0 2, Ebelherr 0-2 1-2 1, Aeilts 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM 16-30 6-8 44. 3pt FG 6-16 (Cook 4-8, Perry 1-2, Block 1-5, Ebelherr 0-1). Rebounds 18, Assists 9, Turnovers 12.

MACARTHUR (53)

Bond 19, McClain 15, Jones 9, Johnson 7, Spates 3. TEAM 20-42 6-12 53. 3ptFG 7-13 (Bond 3, McClain 3, Jones). Rebounds 35, Assists 12, Turnovers 14.

LCHS 10-9-14-11 44
D MAC 14-5-11-23 53

[Jeff Benjamin]

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