|
 Lincoln’s starting lineup was different on two fronts, the first
one that could possibly last through the end of the season. The
Railers were without the services of senior guard Garrett Aeilts who
was injured in practice. One of Lincoln’s main outside threats
suffered an injury to the bone below his eye and will be seeking
further evaluation later this week. “I would say he is definitely
out for this weekend,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said after the
game. “I usually plan for worst case scenario so I say he could be
out the rest of the season. If he’s back earlier, that’s great but
we have to plan for everything.”
So, Lincoln started the night without Aeilts, who entered the
evening tied with KJ Fry for the most threes (38) made this season.
The starting five was also minus sophomore Isaiah Bowers, who came
off the bench to have, what Coach Alexander called “a real good
game.” Bowers did not start due a team guideline that says if you
are not at practice the day before the game, you don’t start the
next day. The sophomore was absent due to a family funeral. “This is
a rule that I have because if you are not at practice, you might not
be focused,” Alexander said. “I don’t leave any grey area and that
eliminates the notion that if I do it for one but not the other
there can be questions. “
 OK, so starting lineup with no Aeilts or Bowers. And a six game
losing streak in need of ending. So how did Lincoln pull away for
the win? Senior leadership and free throw shooting.
Lots and lots of free throw shooting.
Lincoln scored their last 18 points from the line and went a game
deciding 27 of 29 from the stripe to secure the victory. It
certainly wasn’t the most eye-pleasing contest as both teams
struggled at times to find an offensive rhythm, but in the end, the
Railers prevailed.
Lincoln did a good job of not putting themselves in a hole, trailing
by no more than two and that was in the first quarter. After taking
a 9-7 lead in the first, the Railers would never trail. Lincoln got
on the board courtesy of one of the night’s new starters Bryson
Kirby. Kirby hit a three to give Lincoln an early 3-2 lead. From
there, it seemed as though the Railers were scoring in bunches. Down
5-3, Senior Aron Hopp, who led the way with 25 points, scored six in
a row to help Lincoln take a 9-7 lead at the end of the first
quarter.
Fry was instrumental in Lincoln’s early second quarter scoring. Fry
was fouled on a three point attempt from the right wing, but stepped
to the line and made all three free throws. On the next possession,
Fry drained a three from the left wing and was fouled. After he
stepped to the line and made his free throw, Lincoln had climbed up
to a 16-9 advantage. Next up was Bowers. The sophomore hit two
threes in a row to double up Rochester 22-11. The Rockets were able
to put a basket in before the half, but still allowed the Railers to
enjoy a nine point lead at the intermission.
The Railers started the third quarter scoring with a fast break that
you may only see from Lincoln. After a steal, Kirby had an open lane
to the basket. As he reached the left side of the lane, he stopped,
kicked it out to Bowers, who hit his third three of the night as
Lincoln moved out to a 25-13 lead. Hopp scored on a basket and was
fouled and then, thanks to a Rochester defense that left Hopp wide
open, the senior pulled up from 16 feet to extend the Lincoln lead
to 13 at 30-17.
Some of the changes may have been working up to this point, but some
of the inexperience was going to show as turnovers, spacing, and
quick shots allowed the Rockets (5-11, 2-6) to climb back in
courtesy of Collin Stallworth. The junior scored five in a 7-0
Rocket run that drew the margin down to six at 30-24.
[to top of second column] |
A game that was sailing along would grind to a halt for the fourth
quarter. “I thought our intensity wasn’t there tonight in the fourth
quarter,” Alexander said. “That’s when you have to turn it up to win
a game.” Fry and Bowers combined to put a quick four on the board
with a 15 footer from Fry and a steal and layup by Bowers. Rochester
answered back only to see Bowers hit two more from the line and then
Hopp score off a nice pass from Kirby as the Lincoln lead moved to
twelve at 38-26.
Rochester deserves credit for not going away. When Hopp scored on a
lay-in to make it 40-28, Rochester started to break out their three
point shots. It was also the final basket for the Railers on the
night and this game would come down to Lincoln’s ability to make
free throws. And make they did.
The Rockets were willing to trade two free throws for threes, or
three point plays, and with 1:39 to go, Rochester had fought back to
within five at 46-41. With 1:28 left, Alex O’Donoghue made a pair of
free throws with Hopp making two just 25 seconds later and the
margin was back to nine. Another three brought the Rockets back to
within six. Hopp again stepped to the line and made two free throws.
On the night, the senior was a perfect 13 of 13 and is now shooting
91 percent on the season. The Rockets were able to drop one final
three to cut the game back to five.
Over the last 33 seconds, Bowers and Hopp combined to make their
final six free throws to stretch out the game to the final margin of
58-47. Free throw shooting has been a strong suit of this team and,
with tonight’s performance, are doing something not many high
school, heck, college, or pro teams ever do. After tonight’s 27 of
29, Lincoln is now hitting 81 percent from the line. Tonight, that
shooting snapped a six game losing streak.
Hopp led the way with 25 points while Bowers added 18. Fry scored
nine, with Kirby and O’Donoghue chipping in with three.
Another busy weekend for the Railers is on tap as the Central State
Eight Non-City Tournament wraps up. They will next be in action on
Friday night at the Bowl in Jacksonville. The Crimsons beat the
Railers 44-38 to open the conference season in early December. The
varsity is scheduled to tip at 7:30 with the sophomores starting the
night at 6:00pm.
LINCOLN (58)
Hopp 6 13-13 25, Bowers 4 7-8 18, Fry 2 4-4 9, Kirby 1 0-0 3,
O’Donoghue 0 3-4 3, Biggs 0 0-0 0, Hullinger 0 0-0 0, Grunder 0 0-0
0. TEAM 13 27-29 58. 3pt FG 5 (Bowers 3, Fry, Kirby).
ROCHESTER (47)
Handlin 17, Stallworth 14, Schwartz 6, Zeigler 5, Baker 3,
McClintock 2. TEAM 17 6-8 47. 3pt FG 7 (Handlin 3, Schwartz,
Stallworth, Zeigler, Baker).
LCHS 9-13-8-28 58
ROCHESTER 7-6-11-23 47
[Jeff Benjamin] |
