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Lincoln (4-1) clinched the title with the Saturday evening finale, a
grinding, at some points tough to watch, 36-26 win over Cahokia. The
Railer shooting did not match the dominance of the earlier game and
Cahokia was able to grab rebounds at will, especially on the
offensive end. Fortunately, those rebounds did not turn into a lot
of points and Lincoln was able to do just enough to pull out the
win.
“We’re not big, we’re not strong, but we have to do a better job of
rebounding,” Coach Neil Alexander said after the game. “If we could
have kept them off the boards, we may have shut them out because a
lot of their points came off rebounds.”
The Railers had a good balanced attack at the top of the scoresheet.
No Lincoln players hit double figures, but Aron Hopp and KJ Fry each
scored nine, with Garrett Aeilts adding eight. Drew Bacon started
the scoring with a three pointer, but Cahokia’s Thomas Bell
converted a three-play off of an offensive rebound to tie the game.
The Railers used a pair of three pointers from Fry, a continuation
of his earlier performance in game one of the day, to take a 9-3
lead. It was Bell again scoring on a putback off a miss to bring the
Comanches within four at 9-5.
Isaiah Bowers finished the first quarter scoring with a lay in off a
spin move in the lane. Hopp extended the lead to eight with a
nine-foot jumper. After yet another score off the offensive boards
for Cahokia, junior Bryson Kirby connected for a big three to quell
whatever momentum the visitors were amassing. Based on what you have
read so far, would you be surprised if I told you Cahokia climbed
within 16-11 thanks to, all together now, offensive rebounds.
Because of the defense the Railers have played for years, it is well
known rebounding can be an issue. But Saturday night was a struggle.
At times, the Railers stood and waited for the ball to come to them
instead of going after the missed shots. More than once in his post
game discussion, Coach Alexander stressed the team needs to improve
its aggressiveness when it comes to rebounding.
Hopp ended the run with a drive down the lane, while Cahokia scored
again. As it has seemed early in the season, senior Garrett Aeilts
hit a three when the Railers needed it to send Lincoln into the half
up 21-13. The third quarter was rough on the offensive ends. With
only ten points scored between the teams, each team did what they
could to give their opponents chance after chance, but neither team
could take advantage. Lincoln’s first tally came with 4:23 left in
the quarter as Fry hit his third three of the night, pushing the
Railer lead to 24-14.
A basket from Bell and a free throw from Chris McRoberts cut the
lead to seven, but again, when needed the lefty Aeilts stepped up to
drain a three and push the lead back to double digits at 27-17.
Cahokia made their last best push with the first five of the fourth
quarter to cut the Railer lead in half. Hopp, a senior, stepped up
when needed, scoring on a conventional three point play with 5:06
left in the game. There was no more scoring in the game until 2:18
remaining when Hopp hit a pair of free throws. Free throws were a
bright spot for the Railers over the week, shooting 32 of 41 (78
percent). Over the last minute and a half, Nolan Hullinger and
Aeilts each hit a pair of free throws to cement the win for the
Railers and the final of 36-26.
Again, not a textbook win, but as the Railer continue to show
struggles on the offensive end, winning games in low-scoring fashion
may be the best bet for this Lincoln team. As mentioned, Hopp and
Fry led with nine points, with Aeilts adding eight. Kirby and Bacon
each had three with Bowers and Hullinger adding two.
LINCOLN (36)
Hopp 3 3-3 9, Fry 3 0-0 9, Aeilts 2 2-2 8, Bacon 1 0-0 3, Kirby 1
0-0 3, Bowers 1 0-0 2, Hullinger 0 2-2 2. TEAM 11 7-7 36. 3pt FG 7
(Fry 3, Aeilts 2, Bacon, Kirby).
CAHOKIA (26)
Bell 13, McRoberts 6, Gully 5, Rice 2. TEAM 10 5-9 26. 3pt FG 1
(Gully).
LCHS 11-10-6-9 36
CAHOKIA 5-8-4-9 26
The Railers put themselves in a position to stay in contention for
the tourney title with a convincing 49-25 win over Danville on
Saturday morning that really wasn’t even as close as the final
score. The early game belonged to the shooting of KJ Fry. The senior
led the way with 21 points, hitting seven threes, six of them in the
third quarter where Fry’s three point barrage was part of a 20-0 run
against the Vikings who seemed less than interested in being at Roy
S. Anderson Gymnasium. The last Railer to hit for seven was Joey
Olden in 2014 against Glenwood.
Of course, Fry’s outburst was the follow-up to the Aron Hopp Show
during the second quarter when Hopp scored ten in the period,
including the first eight of the stanza. By halftime, Lincoln was up
22-9 and, even against a bigger and more athletic Danville squad,
there was the feeling in the gym that Lincoln was the one that was
overmatching Danville.
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The Railers got off to a quick 6-0 start with threes from Garrett
Aeilts and Fry. Danville was held scoreless by the tightening Railer
defense until 1:54 remaining when Kendle Moore got the Vikings on
the board. Another Danville score cut the game to 6-4 in a low
scoring first quarter. Hopp’s basket on a back door pass by Aeilts
from the top of the key started a 14-0 run that ended with threes
from Bryson Kirby and Drew Bacon. By the time Danville scored with
1:38 left, Lincoln was up 22-6. Hopp ended the quarter with a
beautiful post move, a shot fake in the lane with an up and under
that left two Viking defenders in the lane watching the senior score
for the Railers.
Starting the third quarter up 22-9, Fry caught fire, hitting three
threes, first from the right wing, then the left, and again from the
left. A pair of free throws from Bowers broke up the run, only to
see Fry hitting three more, each one bringing more of a cheer and
roar from the crowd, anticipating a possible record setting
performance. Fry did not reach the single game record of nine threes
in the game, but he does give future Railer opponents cause for
concern. They have to be thinking, “Great. Another Railer that can
have one of those nights from long range.” Coach Neil Alexander
knows what Fry can do, when given the chance. “We know he can do
that. We put him in position to take his type of shots and he hit
them.”
As great as it was to see the Railers hit 11 threes against
Danville, it was the defense that stood out. The Vikings averaged 64
points in the first three games, yet through three quarters, the
Lincoln defense was holding the Vikings to just 11 points. Fry had
18 in third quarter alone.
Play was a bit sloppy in the fourth quarter as the intensity for
both teams dropped. A 33 point margin, Lincoln up 44-11, is not the
type of atmosphere that will drive players. When Hopp scored
Lincoln’s final points to put the Railers up 49-16, Danville made
their only push of the game scoring the final nine of the contest,
but it was not against the Railer defense they had battled for the
first three quarters.
Fry’s 21 led the way as game high scorer, with Hopp joining him in
double figures with 14. Hopp also had all six of Lincoln’s two point
field goals in the game. Bowers added five with Aeilts, Bacon, and
Kirby each hitting a three pointer.
Next up for the Railers is a trip to the Prairie Capital Convention
Center in Springfield for the Central State Eight Shootout. Lincoln
will take on Jacksonville at 1:30 Saturday as they open conference
play. Last year at the event, Lincoln fell in double overtime to the
Crimsons and this year’s version was picked third in the conference
pre-season predictions behind Lanphier and MacArthur. Hopefully, a
good chunk of Railer Nation can make the trip to Springfield to see
if Lincoln can deliver a little payback for last year’s contest.
LINCOLN (49)
Fry 7 0-0 21, Hopp 6 2-2 14, Bowers 1 2-2 5, Aeilts 1 0-0 3, Bacon
1 0-0 3, Kirby 1 0-0 3, Hullinger 0 0-0 0, O’Donogue 0 0-0 0, Biggs
0 0-0 0. TEAM 17 4-4 49. 3pt FG 11 (Fry 7, Aeilts, Bacon, Bowers,
Kirby).
DANVILLE (25)
Gunningham 7, Burke 7, Graham 5, Moore 2, Ross 2, Smith 2. TEAM 10
4-4 25. 3pt FG 1 (Burke).
LCHS 6-16-22-5 49
DANVILLE 4-5-2-14 25
So the 2015 edition of the Eaton Electrical Round Robin Tournament
is now over. The Railers have won three titles in a row as well as
putting three players on the all-tournament team. Aron Hopp, KJ Fry,
and Isaiah Bowers were all part of the eight-man squad. The
remainder of the team included Danville’s Kendle Moore, Cahokia’s
Thomas Bell, Mahomet-Seymour’s Cory Noe and Thomas Kenney, and
Centennial’s Quin Nottingham.
Final Standings for the tournament: Lincoln 4-1, Centennial 4-1
(Lincoln wins title due to head-to-head matchup with Centennial),
Danville 3-2, Mahomet-Seymour 3-2, Cahokia 1-4, Morton 0-5.
Other tourney notes:
- Lincoln’s defense held opponents to the third, fourth, and fifth
lowest scoring games by a team since 1999 (25-Danville, 26-Morton
and Cahokia).
- The 62 points in the game between Lincoln (36) and Cahokia (26)
were the third fewest in a game.
- The Railers set a record by allowing only 166 points over the
five games.
- Offense was an issue the entire tournament as the 1459 points
scored during the tournament are the fewest since 1999.
- Lincoln’s Aron Hopp and Centennial’s Quin Nottingham were the
only repeat members of the all-tournament team.
[Jeff Benjamin]
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