Railers defeat East Peoria 47-24
Lincoln notches 20th win on the season

[February 02, 2023]  The Railers welcomed the Raiders of East Peoria to town on Tuesday night and it was Lincoln capturing yet another season of 20 (and counting) wins as they picked up the 47-24 victory.
 
 Payton Cook was back in the starting lineup versus East Peoria and he was quick to put Lincoln on the board with the opening basket of the game. Cook was also fouled on his shot in the lane and he made the ‘and one’ to earn the three-point play the hard way. After the Raiders tied the game 3-3, Jake Bivin made a nice jumper from the top, but inside the 3-point range, and this set the score at 5-3. The Raiders would eventually take a brief 7-5 lead but the Railers climbed back on top with a free throw by Drew Hayes, a really tough three from Camden Nelson and a clutch three from the corner by Aidan Gowin. The first quarter ended with a 12-7 Railers lead.
 
 Gowin picked up where he left off as the second quarter got underway. This time Gowin chose the other corner and he drained a three to stretch the lead to 15-7. After a layup by Ki’on Carson the Railers were up 17-9. Hayes, who had earned some key playing time while Cook was off with a slight knee injury, made some huge baskets in the middle for Lincoln. In fact, he was able to rattle off six consecutive points for the Railers in the paint and stretch the lead to 23-9. East Peoria would end the half on a good note for themselves, scoring four points in a row. The last two points for the Raiders came by way of a dunk from Justin Page and their crowd was certainly fired up after that play. But the Railers were up where it really counted, 23-13 the score at halftime.
 
 The third quarter scoring for Lincoln began on a positive note as Nelson hit a three. The Lincoln crowd always loves a three. Lincoln kept East Peoria at an arm’s length distance in the third. The Raiders closest score was 28-20, but after a bucket by Hayes the lead was again double-digits. As the third quarter ended, Lincoln was on top 31-22.
 
 The fourth quarter began with a bang as Trey Schilling’s pass into Cook was perfectly timed for a slam dunk. Now the Lincoln crowd really loved that and they nearly blew the roof off the gym as Cook came flying back down. Another cause to erupt was when Bivin sank a three by the Lincoln bench and the Railers lead grew to 36-22. Mid-way through the quarter it was fun to see two of Lincoln’s big men, 6’7 Cook and 6’4 Hayes, working together to make things happen in the paint. When it was all said and done, the Railers lead was 43-24 following a jumper by Cook. With the bench in the game for the final minute of action, it was Connor Meagher and Cadge Kingsley finishing the Railers scoring. Meagher had a nice little left-handed scoop in the lane for two points and Kingsley helped himself to a steal and a layup to end the game.

The final score in this one was 47-24 Railers. Payton Cook led the team with 13 points. Drew Hayes contributed 10 points in the win.  Lincoln is now 20-4 on the season.
 
 In the JV game, the Railers won 40-37 over East Peoria.
 
 Lincoln was led by Darren Stevens with 14 points.
 
 The Railers will play at Taylorville on Thursday night. The JV game is set for 6 p.m. The Varsity game is set for 7:30 p.m.

 Varsity scoring
 
 Lincoln 47
 Cook 13
 Hayes 11
 Nelson 6
 Gowin 6
 Bivin 5
 Carson 2
 Kingsley 2
 Meagher 2
 
 East Peoria 24
 Page 13
 Dubois 4
 Reinders 3
 Marbles 2
 Chown 2
 
 JV scoring
 
 Lincoln 40
 Stevens 14
 Smith 8
 Sanders 8
 Miller 7
 Horn 3
 
 East Peoria 37
 Ahrens 12
 Horton 7
 Jackson 7
 Behm 6
 Parker 5
 
 [Teena Lowery].