Lincoln Railers Varsity opens the season with a win over Bartonville Limestone

[November 28, 2018]  Great basketball is back on for the season at the Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. The 2018-19 Lincoln Railers Varsity Squad tipped-off the season versus Bartonville Limestone in the Lincoln/Eaton Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night.

With the gym dark and only the spotlight flashing over the crowd and the court, this year’s starters were introduced to the excited fans at 8:50 p.m.

The starting five consisted of 5’10 sophomore Dylan Singleton, 6’2 junior Kaden Froebe, 6’3 junior Will Ewald, 6’0 junior Kameron Whiteman and 6’10 senior Jermaine Hamlin.

While Limestone won the opening tip, the Railers defense owned the first quarter. The Railers quickly had the Rockets frustrated.

Kaden Froebe took advantage and read the Rockets pass near mid-court beautifully, and ran away with the ball. His layup from the left side would be the first points of the 2018-19 season and Lincoln was up 2-0.

It didn’t take long for Nathan Thornton to answer back for Limestone and the game was tied.

A layup by Will Ewald reclaimed the Railer lead.

Kameron Whiteman launches a three from the corner in the third quarter versus Limestone and it's good!

Limestone had a handful of shooters from the perimeter, Shayne Ulrich being one. A three from Ulrich put the Rockets back out in front 7-5. But Ewald was feeling it early and he drained a three -nothing but net - to give Lincoln an 8-7 lead.

Dylan Singleton also got his jumper in the lane to bounce in and Lincoln’s lead was 10-7 with 3:51 left to play in the first quarter. Ewald extended the lead to 13-7 with his corner three that swished through the net.

The Railers offense was looking just as spectacular early on as their defense. Ulrich was hot for the Rockets, though, and he hit another three to keep pace, 13-10 Lincoln.

The fans were particularly fired-up in the season opener, but the most excitement was without a doubt whenever the pass was lobbed through the air towards senior Jermaine Hamlin. Hamlin would be fouled on an alley-oop attempt late in the first quarter but he would take advantage at the free throw line and earn his first points on the season. After he was able to bounce his two free throws through the rim, Lincoln led 15-10 and that score would remain the same as the first quarter buzzer sounded.

Second quarter
The second quarter also featured outstanding defense from the young Railers, and they honestly never let up on offense either. Froebe is not afraid to drive the lane and draw the foul. And honestly he could stand at the free throw line and shoot free throws all night long. In the first three minutes of the second quarter, Froebe was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Throw in a field goal by Ewald, who was still on fire, and the Railers were quickly up 22-12 over the Rockets.

Froebe was relentless playing defense out front and his steal and subsequent layup extended that lead to 24-12.

A nice little run by the Railers was highlighted by the tag team of Froebe/Ewald. When Ewald missed a three attempt, it was Froebe saving the day with the offensive rebound and nice little putback for two.

At the 2:50 mark Lincoln was dominating the game 26-15. The defense continued to be stellar and a steal by Singleton allowed the super sophomore to single-handedly score on the layup.

Kameron Whiteman, the only starter who didn’t score in the opening quarter, got his name in the scorebook as his defensive effort paid off with a steal and sweet drive to the basket. His two points doubled-up the score over the Rockets. Lincoln’s lead was now 30-15 with just over two minutes to play until the half.

Limestone was struggling. The Rockets finally managed a basket by Ashton Gray with 1:35 left to play in the second quarter but on the other end Lincoln’s Hamlin scored in the paint and drew the foul. Hamlin’s “and one” was good and the Railers lead was 33-17.

Mike Dunne scored one more field goal for Limestone and after a Lincoln miss the buzzer sounded and the first half was in the books with Lincoln leading 33-19.

Third quarter
The third quarter started off with a bang for Lincoln. With just 7:41 showing on the clock the fans got what they wanted. A beautiful pass sailed through the air from Whiteman telegraphed to Hamlin and the alley-oop was GOOD! Railer Nation went nuts. The Railers bench went plum crazy. And even the faithful Railer fans who’ve watched decades of basketball at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium were impressed. If this is any sign of what’s ahead, this season is going to be fun and full of excitement. When Hamlin wasn’t flying through the air he was getting by with a little help from his friends.

On the Railers next possession, Froebe dished the ball under the basket to Hamlin and the 6’10 senior dropped it in for two points. Lincoln kept a 15-point lead with Hamlin on the court, but after he was called for his third foul around the 5:00 minute mark, he had to take a seat on the Railers bench.

Dreyden Pozsgai came in for the Railers and his fresh set of legs gave Lincoln just what they needed. Pozsgai immediately made noise with an offensive rebound he put back for two points. Following a three from Whiteman, Pozsgai was back at it again. This time down the court it was a pass from Whiteman to Pozsgai, who made good on the field goal and Lincoln was cruising 45-29.

Limestone’s Thornton did manage a couple buckets in this stretch to keep the Rockets hopes alive. But all in all the quarter belonged to Lincoln. Singleton liked that hot corner, too, and he came through with a three at the 1:44 mark, score now 48-35 Lincoln, as the Railers bench came up off their seats.

Railer Nation was having a blast at the Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. Here Railer wrestler Austin O'Donoghue (23) is front and center on Jersey Night.

Singleton played this first game like he’d been a veteran varsity starter his whole career and his soft jumper in the lane made the score 50-35. Nice move by the sophomore.

One more play to highlight the third quarter. Saving the best for last, it was Whiteman with a buzzer beater. Whiteman launched a three at the buzzer and it was good. The Railers high-fived him and trotted to the bench with a 53-37 lead.
 
 Fourth quarter
 Heading into the fourth quarter, Hamlin took the floor again and his teammates wasted no time getting him involved. Froebe was sneaky. For a second he was set to make the shot and it just looked like something was off. But it was Hamlin who caught the ball on the fly as it missed the rim and he put it back up for a dunk. Getting fouled on the play was a bonus and once again Hamlin made the “and one” good.
 
 Now the score was 56-40 and these boys were having fun. Not ready to see it end anytime soon, Froebe and Hamlin had another trick up their sleeves. On the inbounds pass it was Froebe to a leaping Hamlin and once again the big man slammed it home. This time Railer Nation just simply lost their minds. Bodies of students were piled on the sidelines in jubilation. Handclaps, high-fives, holy cows and nothing but smiles from this entertaining bunch.
 
 Lincoln’s lead now 58-44, Froebe and Hamlin would finish out Lincoln’s scoring just for fun. Each had a field goal and a free throw in the final minutes and that would set the final score at 64-49.
 
 Hamlin would finish with four fouls, and luckily none of those were a major factor in the game.

 
 On this opening night, there was lots to cheer about. Four starters placed in double-figures.
 Jermaine Hamlin led Lincoln with 18 points.
 Kaden Froebe tossed in 14 points.
 Will Ewald and Dylan Singleton each contributed 10 points.
 Kameron Whiteman made a lot of people sit up and take notice with his 8 points.
 
 Coach Neil Alexander’s young team, with Hamlin standing shoulders above the rest, earned the win with outstanding defense and some pretty impressive offense. With the first win in the books, everybody knows they have to keep working hard.
 
 Coach Neil Alexander
 First postgame thoughts from the man who makes these kids work hard, Head Coach Neil Alexander:
 
 “I thought the first half we played with some intensity,” said Alexander. “We had some good traps and we created some scores off of our defense. In the second half we had a fifteen point lead at half and so we just didn’t want to guard anybody in the second half. For the first game, you gotta be pleased with it. We still have a lot of things to iron out but like I told the kids before, we still need two more weeks to practice before we’re ready to play. Hopefully in a couple weeks we’ll get things ironed out.”
 
 With a postgame smile, the coach added, “This is a fun group.”
 
 Man in the middle Jermaine Hamlin was at the top of the list of fun players to watch for the Railers and he was all smiles after the win. “We were all ready to play this first game,” he said. “We are hyped up. Everybody had energy. It was just very exciting.”
 
 Will Ewald jumped in the conversation, looking up at Hamlin, and said, “He’s (Hamlin) fun to watch. We didn’t have a lot of defensive pressure in the second half like we did the first half so coach got on us for that. Coach got on me because I messed up some of the plays but I just couldn’t hear him because the crowd was so loud.”
 
 The crowd was loud. The players fed off that enthusiasm and the end result was positive, even though it certainly had to be hard for the players to hear the coaching from the bench.
 
 Kaden Froebe, another positive factor in the Railers victory, offered his thoughts after the win. “I think we’ve been working hard over the course of these two weeks,” said Froebe. “Coach Al has been getting us ready for all these games and I think we’ll be fine. We’ve got scorers all around the perimeter. Jermaine inside helps a lot. The inside-out game should be fun to watch this season.”
 
 Froebe was busy driving the lane all night long and he explained why. “They were over-playing us a little bit so I could get by my guy easier into the rack. It helps having Jermaine spreading the floor out and Jermaine being able to shoot a little bit so their big guys could come out,” said Froebe. “Jermaine can shoot from the outside, too,” Froebe added.
 
 A 6’10 big man who also shoots from the outside. Lincoln has a hidden gem here and in his first game of his senior season he scored a game-high 18 points rather quietly.
 
The Railers season is off to a good start. Don’t wait, get out and see these guys play!

Friday games:
3:30 p.m. JV (Sophomores) Cahokia vs. Bartonville Limestone

5 p.m. JV (Sophomores) Springfield vs. Lincoln

6:30 p.m. Varsity Cahokia vs. Bartonville Limestone

8 p.m. Varsity Springfield vs. Lincoln 
 

Game Stats
 
 Lincoln 64
 
 Hamlin 18
 Froebe 14
 Ewald 10
 Singleton 10
 Whiteman 8
 Pozsgai 4
 
 Limestone 49
 
 Ulrich 15
 Thornton 14
 Gray 8
 Dunne 7
 Garner 5
 
 [Teena Lowery]