Lincoln holds off Belleville Althoff to win 37-35

[November 27, 2021] - The Railers play for tournament championship against Champaign Centennial Saturday 8:15 p.m.

Lincoln survived a fourth quarter surge by Belleville Althoff on Friday night during the Lincoln/Eaton Thanksgiving Tournament and held on to win 37-35.

The Railers led the game for much of the evening. After the two teams traded leads to start the contest, Lincoln took a 6-5 lead on a reverse layup by Payton Cook. Aidan Gowin would hit a three at the 3:20 mark to put Lincoln up 9-5. Jake Bivin hit a jump shot to extend the lead to 11-5. As the first quarter came to a close, Gowin connected for another three and the Railers had a 14-5 lead after one quarter of action.

The second quarter barely saw anybody make a basket. Lincoln managed only six points in the paint and the Crusaders chipped away at the lead by scoring seven points. In fact, after a bucket by the Crusaders early in the second quarter, the scoreboard wouldn’t be updated again until Bivin’s drive to the basket at the 2:00 mark. Elijah Pollice and Jaden Klopp also earned points in the paint to allow Lincoln a 20-12 lead at halftime.

After a little breather at the half, the Railers hit the court in the third quarter ready to do battle with the Crusaders. And it’s a good thing Lincoln won the battle of the third quarter. After a miss by Bivin to start the third quarter action, Cook tipped in the basket and the Railers lead was 22-12. A 15-foot jumper from Bivin would stretch the lead to 24-12. Cook and Bivin kept the Lincoln offense alive as the quarter went on and Lincoln was on top 30-19. A three by Tyler Sasse put the Railers up 33-19 with around two minutes left in the quarter. One more layup by Bivin in the quarter gave Lincoln their largest lead, 35-19 now the score. Keyshon Blackmon ended the quarter scoring with a dunk for the Crusaders and this might’ve been what fired the team up for the final quarter. Lincoln’s lead after three quarters was 35-21.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Crusaders, but luckily for Railer fans time ran out for Belleville Althoff. D’Necco Rucker, who had kept the Crusaders in the game, hit two threes in the quarter. Rucker’s teammate, Earl Liverpool, also hit a three in the quarter. Along with a couple other baskets, the Crusaders found themselves trailing just 35-33 with a minute left to play. Meanwhile the Railers had been held scoreless. The Crusaders tied the game 35-35 on two free throws by Rucker. A layup by Bivin with 7.7 seconds remaining allowed the Railers to regain the lead, 37-35 the score. After a timeout was called, the Crusaders had possession of the ball and their game plan was pretty clear, get the ball in the hands of Rucker. Rucker’s potential game-winning corner three just missed as time expired and the Railers let out a huge sigh of relief. Lincoln hangs on to win 37-35.

Jake Bivin led Lincoln in scoring with 14 points. Payton Cook recorded a double-double versus the Crusaders. Cook had 11 rebounds and 10 points.

Lincoln (3-0) will play tonight at 8:15 p.m. for the tournament championship versus Champaign Centennial.

Scoring

Lincoln 37

Bivin 14
Cook 10
Gowin 6
Sasse 3
Pollice 2
Klopp 2

Belleville Althoff 35

Rucker 22
Blackmon 5
Powell 3
Liverpool 3
Lewis 2

[Teena Lowery]