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 Going into the contest, there were some certainties with the
opponent being Glenwood. It would be low scoring, physical, and be
played in front of a near capacity crowd. No surprise, just as
advertised and the turnout by Railer Nation was definitely
appreciated. “I can’t say enough about our fans,” Coach Neil
Alexander said. “They are certainly part of the reason we won. They
were worth the five points.”
The biggest impact of the game came at the free throw line where the
Railers were 12 of 14 in the final 1:47 of the game (17 for 19
overall), a stat that caused Coach Alexander to say “I’m really
happy with the kids that we made our free throws. This is one of
those games that free throws decided it.”
 Entering the game, the availability of Lincoln junior Aron Hopp was
uncertain. Hopp, who injured his leg on Monday, did not see much
time on Wednesday, especially after halftime. On Friday night, Hopp
was ready for action. The problem is that Glenwood was not ready for
Hopp and his contributions. Hopp got the Railers on the board with a
three from the left corner, something that worked right into the
game plan. “We were able to take away something that they tried to
take away from us,” Alexander said. “They were playing off of him
and hitting those threes made them came out, allowing us to do some
different things. He is a good shooter.”
Glenwood’s Sam Anderson found himself wide open underneath the
basket, an early issue for the Railer defense as he connected again
from almost the same spot after Lincoln’s Jordan Perry hit from long
range. Gavin Block found Hopp down court on a long pass off a
rebound and the junior’s basket put Lincoln up 8-4. Ethan Hunt hit
the first of his three three-pointers to pull the Titans (15-5, 7-3)
within one. A three and a pair of free throws from Block started an
8-0 run that was capped off by Hopp again scoring on a nice outlet
pass and making the free throw to extend Lincoln’s lead to 16-9.
It looked as though the Lincoln defense would hold Glenwood as time
ticked down but tip-in by Joel Alexander off a missed shot at the
buzzer drew Chatham back to being down 16-9. On the night, Glenwood
was able to grab 10 offensive rebounds which led to them getting 15
more shots than the Railers on the night.
 As he did in the first quarter, Hopp struck from behind the arc to
start the second and give Lincoln a double digit lead at 19-9.
Hunt’s three was followed by Block scoring on a back door layup off
the bounce pass from Payton Ebelherr, one of his three assists.
Another offensive rebound led to a score from Hunt. Glenwood got to
within four at 21-17 when their Mr. Everything, Cole Harper, scored
his first basket with 1:25 left in the half. Coach Todd Blakeman had
to feel a little relief knowing his team was down only four and his
version of Gavin Block just got his first points. Block put down the
Railers’ final points of the half on an alley-oop lob, again from
Ebelherr. Glenwood missed numerous chances as the half came to a
close, getting one attempt after another, one loose ball and then
the next. Their final chance came with 1.5 seconds, but the
attempted lob to Harper fell to the court and the Railers took a six
point lead to the locker room.
Again, Glenwood must have felt fortunate being down only six as they
shot only 37 percent while allowing Lincoln to make 73 percent of
their attempts.
Lincoln ran out to a 25-17 lead when Block’s long down court pass
found Hopp who was able to sneak behind the defense and score.
However, those were the final points Lincoln would score until late
in the quarter and in between, Glenwood climbed back in the game.
Another tip in by Joel Alexander was followed by a three from Hunt
and the Titans had finally caught up to Lincoln to knot the game at
25. Possibly the biggest shot of the night came from a senior when
Ebelherr hit from the top of the key and the lead swung back to the
Railers at 28-25.
[to top of second column] |
Harper started the fourth quarter scoring for Glenwood to again
cut the lead down to one. Block, who finished a perfect 12 of 12
from the line, hit a pair to put Lincoln in front 30-27. Another
score down low from Anderson pulled the Titans to down one at 30-29.
Lincoln’s only field goal of the quarter would come in unlikely
fashion when freshman Isaiah Bowers saw the lane open up from the
left wing and his driving reverse layup put the Railers ahead 32-29.
“That is a big play for a freshman in a game like this,” Alexander
stated. Hopp’s free throws at 1:47 started the Lincoln parade at
the line, a place that has been a struggle earlier in the year.
Harper scored at 1:21 to cut the deficit again to three. Lincoln ran
off five in a row from the line to go up 39-31. As close as Glenwood
would get, even tying the game at 25, they never took the lead, a
point that was not lost on the bench. “That was important because
that (them getting the lead) would have impacted the situation,”
Alexander said. “They would have pulled the ball out, run some
clock. It would have been tough.”
 Lincoln kept making free throws and the closest Glenwood would get
was at 42-39 after a three Nick Hammond. However, when Block hit a
pair of free throws with 1.0 left, the only thing left to do was
wait for time to expire. Block’s last trip to the line for the night
allowed him to move into 6th place on the all-time scoring list,
passing Ben Brackney.
It was nothing different than was expected walking into Chatham. At
times, it felt just like a regional atmosphere. Glenwood will get
its chance at payback later in the season, but for one night, the
Railers continue to dominate this tournament.
Block’s 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists were team highs on the
night. Hopp finished his big night with 15 points with Ebelherr
adding four, Perry scored three, with Bowers two being the big layup
in the fourth. Will Cook chipped in with a late free throw.
One more game left in the tournament and it is at home. The Railers
are set to take on Decatur MacArthur Saturday night at 8:00pm at Roy
S. Anderson Gymnasium. With MacArthur besting Jacksonville by 21 and
Eisenhower squeaking by Rochester by three, the standings with one
game left are as follows: Lincoln 4-0, Glenwood 3-1, MacArthur 3-1,
Rochester 1-3, Eisenhower 1-3, and Jacksonville 0-4.
LINCOLN (44)
Block 3-4 12-12 19, Hopp 5-7 3-3 15, Ebelherr 1-4 1-2 4, Perry 1-1
0-0 3, Bowers 1-2 0-0 2, Cook 0-3 1-2 1, Aeilts 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM
11-21 17-19 44. 3pt FG 5-9 (Hopp 2-2, Perry 1-1, Ebelherr 1-1, Block
1-2, Cook 0-3). Rebounds 14, Assists 9, Turnovers 5.
GLENWOOD (39)
Hunt 9, Harper 8, Parriott 8, Anderson 7, Alexander 4, Hammond 3.
TEAM 15-36 3-4 39. 3pt FG 6-18 (Hunt 3, Parriott 2, Hammond 1).
Rebounds 20, Assists 7, Turnovers 4).
LCHS 16-7-5-16 44
GLENWOOD 9-8-8-14 39
[Jeff Benjamin]
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