Railers outlast Mahomet-Seymour 42-39 in final regular season game

[February 19, 2022] The Lincoln Railers played their final home game of the season on Friday night and defeated the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs 42-39.

The Railers started the game Friday night with an alley-oop from Aidan Gowin to Payton Cook. After a three by Elijah Pollice and a two by Jake Bivin, the Railers were in front early 7-4. An 8-0 run by the Bulldogs put them in front 12-7. Camden Nelson was fouled on a three just before the first quarter ended and he went to the line, sinking 2-of-3 foul shots to settle the score at 12-9. 

Two 3s from Nelson in the second quarter drew the Railers closer, 16-15 the score.  After the Railers fell behind 18-15, Tyler Sasse hit back-to-back field goals to give Lincoln a 19-18 lead. Sasse would also hit a three to stretch the Lincoln lead to 22-18. Before the half ended, Gowin scored on a layup and Lincoln was on top 24-21.

The third quarter was light on offense for both teams. Lincoln went ahead 26-23 on a basket by Bivin, but then the Bulldogs took a 28-26 lead over the Railers. As the third quarter came to a close, Pollice drained a three to put Lincoln on top 29-28. 

Nelson extended the lead with his three to start the fourth quarter scoring. Nelson was knocked down on the play and went to the line to shoot the ‘and one’ which gave Lincoln a 33-28 lead. The Bulldogs had a lot of fight left in them, and they used another 8-0 run to take over the lead. With 3:33 left in the game, the Bulldogs were on top 36-33. A layup by Gowin pulled the Railers to within a point, but the Bulldogs were quick to stretch the lead to 38-35. With 2:20 left in the game, a three by Pollice in front of the Railers bench tied the game. A minute later, Cook would make a tough shot off the backboard and put the Railers in front for good, 40-38 the score. Two free throws by Pollice with 24.4 seconds remaining would seal the 42-39 victory.

Camden Nelson led the Railers with 12 points. Elijah Pollice tossed in 11 points. 

Lincoln ends the regular season with a 24-7 record. 

The Lincoln JV team earned a 37-24 win over the Bulldogs.

Ka’ni Carson led the Railers with 11 points. 

The JV team finished with a 24-2 record. 

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 42

Nelson 12

Pollice 11

Sasse 7

Bivin 4

Cook 4

Gowin 4

Mahomet-Seymour 39

Walters 11

Bohm 10

Koller 8

Lynch 8

Wagner 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 37

Ka’ni Carson 11

Ki’on Carson 8

Schilling 5

Hayes 4

Meagher 3

Stevens 3

Evers 3

Mahomet-Seymour 24

Peters 9

Starrick 7

Pagel 4

Dyer 2

Randolph 2

[Teena Lowery]