LDN - Sports

Railer season ends in overtime
LANPHIER 49, LINCOLN 44 (OT)

[March 04, 2017] In the end, I guess we should have seen this coming. With all the battles and classic matchups we have been witness to over the years, it only made sense that the final matchup between Lincoln and Lanphier as members of the Central State Eight conference could not be confined to a simple 32 minutes. The season was going to end for someone on Friday night and, unfortunately, it was the warriors in Red and Green.

Springfield Lanphier was able to defend its number one seed and home court by scoring the final six points in overtime to knock of the Railers 49-44. The Lions advance to the sectional to be played in Effingham while Lincoln saw its season come to a close. Lincoln may have come up short on the scoreboard but not in the eyes of their Hall of Fame coach.

“I am so proud of how hard these kids played tonight,” Coach Neil Alexander said. “They gave it everything they had and showed their heart with how hard they played. We made some mistakes, but that is a good team (Lanphier) and they can make you do that.”

Even though the game was played at Lanphier’s Lober-Nika Gymnasium, at the beginning of the game it felt a little bit like Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium had made the trip south as well. With Railer Nation out en masse and a white-clad student section, it would have been easy to mistake the venue for the home court. “Our support has been great all year and our student section, our crowd was outstanding tonight,” Alexander said. “We’ve won a lot of games and most of those are thanks to the support like we had tonight.”

With the Railers knocking off then number one Lanphier in February, there was never a feeling in the gym that Lincoln was intimidated. That feeling carried through the early part of the game as the Railers could not have asked for a better start. After junior Titus Cannon started the scoring with a pair of free throws, Lanphier’s Yakeema Rose tied the game with a basket. From there, the Railers pushed it into overdrive going a 10-0 to shock the Lions as they were down 12-2. Lanphier wanted to play at a hectic pace, but it was Lincoln that capitalized on the numerous Lanphier misses and mistakes. A pair a baskets from Ben Grunder along with threes from Isaiah Bowers and Nolan Hullinger gave the Railers a quick double-digit lead.

A quick four from Lanphier brought the lead down to 12-6 but Hullinger, who may have played his best game of the season, found a cutting Grunder going down the lane for another easy basket. The only thing that was not going in Lincoln’s favor early was the whistles of the officials. Foul after foul was called on Lincoln. At the 3:41 mark, Cannon picked up his second and went to the bench while less than a minute later, Bowers was tagged with his second. In the meantime, Bryson Kirby connected for a three to extend the lead back to 17-7. The difficulties of Rose at the line in the first quarter, going three of six, helped the Railers.

Again, it was Hullinger finding an open teammate, this time Bowers cutting to the basket and a 19-7 lead. The fouls continued to build, so much so that by the 2:13 mark in the first quarter, Lanphier was already in the bonus. Free throws from Aundrae Williams and a basket from Cardell McGee cut the margin to 19-12. Grunder continued his outstanding first quarter scoring baskets on a bullet pass from Cannon and an acrobatic double clutch layup. Grunder’s 12 first quarter points helped Lincoln to a 23-12 lead after one.

The Grunder show continued to start the fourth on a drive in the lane only to be answered by a field goal from Stanley Morgan. After a miss, Kirby forced a turnover with a tipaway. As he tracked it down, Hullinger was rewarded for his hustle down court as Kirby found him wide open for a shot off the glass and the Railers had moved out to their largest lead of the night at 27-14.

And then it all fell apart.

As the Lions cranked up the pressure, Lincoln could not take care of the ball or get shots to fall. Behind the play of Rose, McGee, and Williams, Lanphier went on a 16-0 run to take a 30-27 lead. During the first quarter, the Railers shot a paltry 9 of 12 from the field, including making all three from behind the arc. That shooting means that over a five quarter stretch against Lanphier, the Railers made 13 of 14 threes going back to their win last month. The accuracy in the second quarter was not there as Lincoln made just three of their eight shots, missing both from long range. Lanphier (25-3) found their touch hitting on 7 of 10 from the field.

Bowers was able to get a score before the half ended, leaving the Railers down just one at 30-29. It was one of the most action-packed sixteen minutes we have seen all year. I’m not sure anyone would have guessed the offense would all but dry up in the second half.

McGee started the half with another three before free throws from Drew Bacon and a three from Kirby gave the lead back to Lincoln at 34-33. Rose’s lay in gave the Lions a short lived lead as Kirby started to find the mark from long range, his next putting the Railers on top 37-35. Rose continued his extra effort with a putback off an offensive rebound to tie the game at 37. The teams combined for just 15 points in the third quarter. With the game tied heading to the fourth, I think all in attendance knew this would be one to remember.

[to top of second column]

However, if you thought scoring was at a premium in the third, the fourth would be something else. The Railers missed an opportunity to build a lead as Cannon had two trips to the line, only to make one of four for a 38-37 lead. Corrington Jones made Lanphier’s only points of the quarter, hitting a three with 4:10 to go and a 40-38 Lions’ lead. After a timeout, Bacon tied the game on a finger roll down the lane. With the game knotted at 40, no one would have guessed the scoring was done for the period. Both teams certainly had their chances.

Lincoln missed a golden opportunity with a little over a minute to go when a rebound that was passed out to the corner went right through the Railers’ hands. Lanphier returned the favor by stepping on the sideline just seconds later the give the ball back to Lincoln.

After another miscue, Lanphier looked to hold for the last shot when Cannon stepped up defensively and drew a charge to get the ball back. As time was winding down, Bowers fired a fade away jumper from beyond the top of the key that missed to the left and buzzer meant we would be treated to extra Lincoln-Lanphier basketball.

Lincoln grabbed an early lead in the extra period when Bowers found a wide open Bacon on the low block who banked it off the glass. After a free throw, Rose missed a drive in the lane but was able to grab an offensive rebound and put it back in before coming back down to give the lead back to Lanphier at 43-42. The final points of the Lincoln season, giving them a final lead in the game, was Grunder scoring on a back door style play from Cannon. The Lions had clamped down on the junior with his basket putting Lincoln up 44-43 was his first score since the first basket of the second quarter.

Lanphier outrebounded Lincoln 28-19 with that edge very obvious in overtime. The Lions were able to get three shots on the next trip down, the third shot was a converted offensive rebound by Karl Wright putting Lanphier up for good at 45-44. After another miss from Lincoln, Aundrae Williams was fouled with 15.7 seconds left. Making both forced Lincoln to look to take a three. After trying to find an open look, the Railers got a clean look from Grunder, but the shot did not treat the Railers kindly and the rebound from Corrington Jones all but sealed the game. With 3.3 seconds left, the first make from Jones moved the lead to four and caused Lanphier coach Blake Turner to basically disregard the second free throw from Jones while he turned to the Lanphier crowd behind their bench, acting more like a cheerleader than a coach. While Turner was busy looking for a reaction, Jones made the second free throw to finalize the scoring and the Lincoln season at 49-44.

This will be a tough one for a while. Lincoln got off to a great start and definitely had a chance to win this game. However, 12 turnovers and 30 percent shooting (6 of 20) after the first quarter did them in. Going five of ten from the line in a game with so much on the line is not the way to pull out the win. But, no matter the result, the effort is unquestioned. If someone doesn’t have heart when they put on the Lincoln uniform, they will when they take the floor as a Railer.

Grunder led the way for the Railers with 14 points, with Kirby adding nine. Bowers finished with seven points and a team high 5 rebounds. Bacon ended with six, with Hullinger scoring five and Cannon adding three.

So, the season has come to a close at 19-13. The final games for seniors Bryson Kirby and Nolan Hullinger are in the books and the next time Lincoln takes the court in November, they will be representing the Apollo Conference. A lot of things are changing but one thing will remain the same. Railer Nation will be there to support this team and these players. “it’s one of the great things about this program,” Alexander said. “Other schools don’t have this and that’s what makes it real special to play here.”

Once a Railer, always a Railer.

Thanks for reading and we will see you next season!

LINCOLN (44)

Grunder 7-10 0-0 14, Kirby 3-4 0-0 9, Bowers 3-13 0-0 7, Bacon 2-4 2-4 6, Hullinger 2-3 0-0 5, Cannon 0-3 3-6 3, Sloan 0-0 0-0 0, Holliday 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM 17-37 5-10 44. 3pt FG 5-13 (Kirby 3-4, Hullinger 1-2, Bowers 1-5, Grunder 0-2). Rebounds 19 (Bowers 5, Kirby 5, Grunder 3, Bacon 3, Cannon, TEAM 2), Assists 10 (Cannon 3, Grunder 2, Bowers 2, Hullinger 2, Kirby). Turnovers 12.

LANPHIER (49)

Rose 16, McGee 11, C.Jones 8, Wright 6, Williams 6, Morgan 2. TEAM 16-41 12-16 49. 3pt FG 5-17 (McGee 3, Jones 2). Rebounds 28 (McGee 10), Assists 6 (Williams 4), Turnovers 13.

LCHS 23-6-8-3-4 44
LANPHIER 12-18-7-3-9 49

Back to top