Railer Basketball is BACK!

Lincoln defeats Taylorville 41-25 in the season opener

[February 03, 2021]  The Lincoln Railers opened the 2021 basketball season on Tuesday night in Taylorville with two returning starters from last season, Dylan Singleton and Landon Hullinger. The only other senior on the team, Adam Grunder, made his way into the starting lineup on Tuesday night. Juniors Brody Whiteman and Elijah Pollice rounded out the final five for Coach Neil Alexander.

With no jump ball allowed to start the game, the Railers started with possession and inbounded the ball at half-court. Brody Whiteman would get the Railers on the scoreboard with a little stop ’n pop near the free throw line with 7:20 on the clock.

Taylorville held a 3-2 edge around the four-minute mark and that would be the Tornadoes only lead of the game.

Back-to-back layups by Dylan Singleton put the Railers on top 6-3. Singleton was fouled on both layups and made the “and one” on the second one.

Around the two-minute mark Landon Hullinger scored his first bucket of 2021. Hullinger’s three in front of the Taylorville bench, which is actually players spread out in folding chairs these days, gave Lincoln a 10-3 lead that held as the first quarter came to a close.

Landon Hullinger goes up for two points in the paint over Taylorville's Kamren Heimsness

Second quarter

Lincoln was all about extending that lead in the second quarter as Elijah Pollice collected the pass down the open court for an easy two and a 12-3 Railer lead. Singleton’s soft jumper that barely touched the net gave Lincoln a 14-3 advantage.

Enter into the game Junior Andrew Graue and folks at home watching via the internet got to see a glimpse of what this young man can do. Graue swished his first three with 5:01 on the clock. He nailed another one, nothing but net from the corner with 4:07 showing, as the score flashed 20-3 in Lincoln’s favor.

With the Tornadoes still unable to beg, borrow or steal a basket, Lincoln continued to pad the lead. Hullinger leaped in the air to grab an inbounds pass and as he dumped the ball through the hoop, Lincoln was cruising 22-3.

The scoring drought finally ended for Taylorville with just under two minutes to play in the first half. A couple buckets later by the home team and Lincoln still held a comfortable 22-7 lead going into the locker room.

Third quarter

The third quarter was off to a slow start for both teams. While the Tornadoes managed to close the gap a little, they still trailed 22-12.

On the flip side the Railers managed just five points in the quarter, a couple free throws from Singleton and a three by Hullinger by no means gave the one and only official scorer writer’s cramp.

The biggest reason for the quiet crowd of hardly anybody to cheer was when Lincoln’s Jaden Klopp blocked a shot in the corner and that was how the third quarter came to a close. It was impressive and the 6’4 junior has a lot more of those in him no doubt. Lincoln’s lead was 27-14 at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Fourth quarter action for Lincoln was highlighted by eight points and a block from the floor general himself, Singleton. The 5’11 senior picked up right where he left off last season, playing tough as nails. His partner in crime from a year ago, Hullinger, poured in four points in the final quarter. One more basket by Pollice, which was actually a nice maneuver in the lane early in the quarter, completed the Railers offense on this night and allowed Lincoln to board the bus with a 41-25 victory.

Dylan Singleton led all scorers with 17 points. Landon Hullinger hit double-figures with 12 points for the Railers.

Junior Varsity

It’s been a long time without Railer Basketball and the way the JV opened up their season Tuesday night, they earned some of the spotlight here too.

Coach Gregg Alexander put together a JV starting lineup of Aidan Gowin, Alex Schmidt, Cadge Kingsley, Tyler Sasse and Payton Cook against Taylorville. This group of five was impressive, along with several players off the bench who contributed in the 57-25 win.

Payton Cook led the Lincoln JV with 21 points in the season opener versus Taylorville

Cadge Kingsley opened the scoring for the Railers JV, but it was 6’5 sophomore Payton Cook dominating the first quarter with 10 points. His play in the paint has improved tremendously since last season. Alex Schmidt also contributed a bucket in the first quarter that allowed the Railers a 14-5 lead.

Taylorville opened the second quarter with a three, but Lincoln had an answer for that by the name of Camden Nelson. Nelson connected for a long three from the corner for Lincoln, nothing but net.

Taylorville hit another three, and again Lincoln was not about to back down. The trio of Schmidt, Sasse and Kingsley seemed to be up for the challenge, as they each scored. With Cook adding a couple more baskets late in the quarter, the Railers were able to command a 29-18 halftime lead.

Cook started Lincoln off on the right foot in the third quarter with a basket in the paint.
 
 Aidan Gowin, who is just a freshman, scored his first Railer points in the third quarter. First with a three and then a layup off the steal. Nice work.
 
 Overall the entire team was playing tougher defense in the third quarter, forcing turnovers and making the Tornadoes rush their shots.
 
 Cook was still dominating in the paint, offensively and defensively. Around that 3:40 mark is when Cook scored a bucket and took advantage of the “and one.” That gave him 21 points on the night. His rebounds were right in that same range, unofficially, but still a double-double in three quarters.
 
 Jake Bivin also made waves in the third quarter for Lincoln. He made a tough bucket on a baseline move look relatively easy. And with just under a minute to play in the quarter, Bivin rattled the rim for a three and a solid 48-18 Railer lead.
 
 With one more Tornado three to follow, the score was settled at 48-21 heading into the final quarter.
 
 Nelson continued to impress from long-range. He opened the Lincoln scoring in the fourth quarter with a long three in front of Coach Gregg Alexander.
 
 With a running clock, the Railers were able to bring more players in from the bench.

 
 Freshman Darren Stevens scored a bucket in the paint for Lincoln and drew the foul. His “and one” was good and Lincoln was up 54-23.
 
 With just under a minute, Connor Meagher hit a corner three and that basket would settle the final score at 57-25.
 
 Nine Railers made it into the scoring column.
 
 Payton Cook led all scorers with 21 points.
 
 The Railers return home to Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium Friday night to host Teutopolis. Game times are set for 6 p.m. (JV) and 7:30 p.m. (Varsity).
 
  Varsity scoring
 
 Lincoln 41
 
 Singleton 17
 Hullinger 12
 Graue 6
 Pollice 4
 Whiteman 2
 
 Taylorville 25
 
 Shirley 11
 Friedrich 6
 Czajkowski 4
 Heimsness 3
 Clayton 1
 
 
 JV scoring
 
 Lincoln 57
 
 Cook 21
 Nelson 6
 Gowin 5
 Schmidt 5
 Sasse 5
 Bivin 5
 Kingsley 4
 Meagher 3
 Stevens 3
 
 [Teena Lowery]