Railers blow out the Tornadoes 61-28
Payton Cook scores a career-high 25 points

[December 07, 2022]

Lincoln hosted Taylorville Tuesday night in an Apollo Conference matchup and with Payton Cook nearly outscoring the entire Tornadoes lineup, the Railers won by a final score of 61-28.

Cook poured in a career-high 25 points Tuesday night and he only played in three quarters of the game. He was 5-of-6 shooting from the three-point range and the fans absolutely loved it. Cook also pulled down six rebounds and had one steal.

The Railers fell behind 4-2 early in the game, but once the ball was in Cook’s hands, the Railers took the lead. Cook’s three-point play in the lane put Lincoln over the hump, leading 5-4 and it was full speed ahead from there. Cook’s first three of the game with 3:24 on the clock gave the Railers an 8-4 lead. After Aidan Gowin drove the lane, the Railers were in front 10-7. After points in the paint by Cook and Camden Nelson, the Railers closed out the first quarter with a 15-7 lead.

Cook showed off a nice move to start the second quarter scoring. The 6’7" senior drove the lane, spun around and just tossed the ball off the glass gently and it glided through the net for a 17-9 lead. With 5:43 on the clock it was Cook stepping outside to sink a three and make the score 20-11. As 4:49 flashed on the clock, Cook launched one from the top of the key and it bounced in for yet another three. The 23-11 Railers lead at this time prompted Railer Nation to chant, “Who’s your daddy?” The quiet kid on the court was making a lot of noise in the first half with 16 points already to his credit. Trey Schilling stole the ball from the Tornadoes at the 4:26 mark and he took it all the way for a 25-11 Lincoln lead. Less than a minute later Cook was scoring again off the lob pass on an inbounds play. This made the score 27-11. The Railers continued to tear up the Tornadoes and with Tyler Sasse and Jake Bivin pouring in baskets, Lincoln took a 35-11 lead into the locker room. Cook had 18 points at the half and it was pretty evident he was owning the Tornadoes at this point.

The Tornadoes best quarter was the third, but Lincoln still outscored them 15-13. Once again, Cook came out with the confidence to shoot from beyond the arc and his three in front of the Railers bench at the 6:06 mark sent his teammates into a frenzy. As the ball sailed through the net, the score flashed 42-13. Cook wasn’t done having fun yet. With 3:12 on the clock, he hit his fifth and final three of the game, this time in front of Railer Nation. This gave Cook 25 points and the Tornadoes were stuck on 19 points. Nelson and Schilling accounted for the Railers remaining points in the quarter and at the end of three, Lincoln was wiping out the Tornadoes 50-24.

The Railers began the fourth quarter by forcing a turnover and then it was Drew Hayes in transition with the nice pass through the lane to a speeding Schilling, who laid the ball in without missing a stride. The fourth quarter would be the time to shine for the Railers bench and after a sweet jumper by Darren Stevens gave Lincoln a 54-24 lead, it was Cadge Kingsley’s turn. Kingsley spotted an opening in the lane and he drove right to the basket, stretching the lead to 56-24. Following a free throw by Blake Horn, Connor Meagher poured in the last of the Railers four points. Railer Nation loved every second of the effort put forth by the subs. The Railers had everything clicking versus Taylorville and the 61-28 win was a lot of fun to watch.

Hopefully Coach Al was happy leaving the gym and even happier once he got home and was able to watch the Illinois basketball game. It’s an unspoken rule to not talk about the Illini game in Coach Al’s presence following a Railer game.

Worth mentioning again is the great performance by senior Payton Cook. He made every move on the court look smooth and his three-point shot was a thing of beauty. His 25 points scored in three quarters was so much fun to watch.

Lincoln improves to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Apollo Conference.

The Railers JV team defeated Taylorville 51-21. Brady Miller and Darren Stevens each scored 10 points for the Railers.

Lincoln will host Charleston on Friday night. The JV is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The Varsity will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 61
Cook 25
Schilling 8
Sasse 8
Nelson 4
Gowin 4
Meagher 4
Bivin 2
Stevens 2
Kingsley 2
Carson 1
Horn 1

Taylorville 28
Bitschenauer 13
Clayton 5
Wiseman 4
Durbin 2
Odam 2
Howard 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 51
Stevens 10
Miller 10
Komnick 7
Horn 6
Horton 5
Sanders 4
Hayes 3
Smith 3
Graue 3

Taylorville 21
Durbin 15
Younker 4
Beckmier 2

[Teena Lowery]