Railers fall to Bloomington Central Catholic 53-40
- Dylan Singleton scores his 1,000th career point

[March 15, 2021]  Lincoln senior point guard Dylan Singleton scored the 1,000th point of his Railer career on Saturday morning in Bloomington against a Central Catholic. The team had a few players Singleton faced years ago as a member of the Carroll Catholic Crusaders. Very few probably saw that coming, but then again in a season where these athletes played 23 games in less than six weeks, anything could be possible.

Lincoln took the floor on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. versus the Bloomington Central Catholic Saints and as quick as the first half flew by, it appeared like the Railers showed no signs of being tired from the game the night before.

The scoring action started quickly for the Railers, with Brody Whiteman hitting a three to start the game. Casey Crowley was the first Saint to score and Lincoln was up 3-2 early on.

Elijah Pollice found an opening in the lane on the next possession and his layup made the score 5-2.

Then it was Dylan Singleton with a short jumper to extend the lead to 7-2. The anticipation of a special moment was growing, with Singleton now sitting at 999 points.

JT Welch brought the Saints back with a three and the score was 7-5.

Around that five minute mark Singleton hit another short jumper that made the score 9-5 and pushed the senior into an elite group of scoring legends among Railer basketball history.

With that basket Singleton had reached 1,001 points, becoming just the 22nd Railer in basketball history to do so. The Railer bench was aware of the accomplishment, as they erupted in applause. But just like Singleton’s work ethic, the game didn’t stop.

Whiteman hit a three to extend the Lincoln lead to 12-5 just before the Saints came marching back. Back-to-back threes by Andrew Hinderer kept the Saints alive with the score now 12-11.

Just before the first quarter ended, Landon Hullinger stepped to the free throw line to sink two and set the first quarter score at 14-11, Lincoln on top.

Nearly the first two minutes of the second quarter were quiet, but then Cole Certa tied the game 14-14 with a three for the Saints.

Hullinger would get the Railer bench on their feet with that corner three he loves to shoot and that would put Lincoln on top 17-14. That basket would also give Hullinger 100 threes for his career.

Seconds later Crowley hit another three for the Saints and the game was tied 17-17.

A baseline jumper by Singleton broke the tie but the Saints were quick to respond. Crowley tossed up a three again and it fell through the net, giving the Saints their first lead of the game, 20-19 the score.

Around the 3:00 mark 6’4 junior Jaden Klopp made a hook shot to reclaim the Lincoln lead, 21-20 the score. That score would remain until halftime.

Something strange apparently happened at halftime, it’s almost like someone stole the Railers uniforms and put a different group of guys in them and let them on the court. The Saints started to run away with the game in the third quarter and at one point even the Railers radio and tv announcer Jay Hardin said, “We just can’t throw it in the ocean right now.” He was right.

After about eight minutes of not scoring, stretching back to the second quarter, the Railers found themselves in a big hole, 35-21 the score. Just under the 3:00 mark Singleton would step to the line for Lincoln and drop in a couple free throws. Finally Lincoln had points again.

Singleton followed his trip to the line with a quick steal and layup and the lead was cut to ten points, 35-25 the score.

With 1:20 left in the quarter, Klopp hit a bucket under the basket and the Railers had come alive, 35-27 the score. Back came the Saints though in a big way. Hinderer connected for two points and then after Singleton made a free throw with .8 seconds on the clock, the Saints had the ball again and did the nearly impossible.

Inbounding the ball under the Railers basket the Saints player threw an inbounds pass the length of the court to his teammate by the basket and it was a perfect quick catch and release. It all happened in .8 seconds. The ball sailed through the net and that’s just how the Saints third quarter was going.

A 39-28 Saints lead made the Railers realize they would have their hands full for the fourth quarter.

A tip-in by Payton Cook after a missed Railer basket started the Railers fourth quarter scoring, and the lead was cut to 39-30. That would as close as Lincoln would get.

Welch and Crowley led the way scoring basket after basket and with 1:43 left to play in the game the lead was 53-36.

Singleton would score the last Railer baskets of the game and the final score was set at 53-40.

Lincoln falls to 17-5.

Bloomington Central Catholic improves to 12-10.

Dylan Singleton led Lincoln with 17 points.

Casey Crowley led the Saints with 17 points. JT Welch tossed in 16 points.

Congratulations to Dylan Singleton for reaching 1,000 points in his career!

Singleton, who has earned nicknames like “The Energizer Bunny” and “Bulldog” and who most recently has been referred to as “One Tough Customer” spoke on Saturday night, recalling some highlights of his career and of course, there was mention of his most recent accomplishment, but only when prompted.

“I really didn’t think about it until this year,” said Singleton, of chasing 1,000 points. “I knew I needed around 400 points this year, so that’s basically when I started thinking about it. If we would have had a full season this year, it wouldn’t have been such a panic to get it. I kind of figured last year that I was capable of getting 1,000 because of playing my sophomore year, so it did give me an extra year to get more points.”

Singleton actually scored more points in his shortened senior season (over 400) than he did his junior year (around 350), he noted.

Still the Class of 2021 senior leaves Lincoln Community High School with several basketball memories.

“Definitely going back to my sophomore year, winning regionals at Clinton with Jermaine Hamlin was a highlight for me,” said Singleton. “Also beating Urbana in the Sectional and then getting the chance to play Southeast in the Sectional Championship.” That was also Singleton’s sophomore year.

As a junior, Singleton was instrumental in guiding the team to the postseason again. “Obviously, last year playing against MacArthur in the Sectional game was a highlight,” he said. “Last year we had a good team.”

Singleton was a huge part of the 2019-20 Railers squad that went 32-2 before the season came to an abrupt end after that dominating 60-41 win over MacArthur on March 11, 2020.

So where does Singleton draw his inspiration from to play the game so hard? “My dad (Richie Singleton) always says before the game to just be aggressive,” said Singleton. “My dad was my assistant coach in junior high and he just always taught me to play hard.” As a Carroll Catholic Crusader, Singleton was on the team that finished second in State his 7th grade year. The Crusaders got knocked out in the first round of State his 8th grade year.

When asked about leaving behind a legacy as a Railer, he just simply said, “Hard-working. I was going hard every play."

He certainly played harder than any point guard around the area, taking hits night after night and getting back up, ready to do it all over again. And Singleton was the ultimate team player, sometimes passing up on the shot himself and just giving a teammate a better opportunity. A true definition of unselfishness. It’s evident he just wanted to get the win for the team. But it is also worth noting that he can rise to the occasion and put the team on his back, especially during the big games against former Central State Eight rivals, really unfazed by the pressure.
 

Back on February 6, 2021 against Lanphier, Singleton scored 26 points as the Railers beat the Lions 56-49 in Springfield. That was a career high until February 20, 2021 when he poured in 38 points as the Railers handed Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin a 73-49 loss. Of course, you will not find Singleton mentioning the points he scored, but he’s quietly very proud of the team victories. This young man is a real leader on the court and his impact will be talked about by Railer fans forever.

Even though the gym was not packed this season due to Covid restrictions, Singleton was a fan favorite at Roy S. Anderson as a key member of the starting lineup for three years.

In closing Singleton offered this, “I would just like to say thank you to Railer Nation for everything.”

Thank YOU, Dylan!

Scoring

Lincoln 40

Singleton 17
Whiteman 8
Hullinger 5
Klopp 4
Cook 4
Pollice 2

Bloomington Central Catholic 53

Crowley 17
Welch 16
Hinderer 10
Certz 5
Ellison 3
Trosino 2

[Teena Lowery]