Railers use late free throws to tame Lions, 46-43

 

[February 05, 2024]  A popular axiom in basketball is that games can be won or lost at the free throw line.

In the case of the Lanphier boys basketball team, if Coach Blake Turner and his squad face the Railsplitters in the postseason, they would more than likely prefer if Lincoln never made it to the charity stripe.

The Railers made three of four free throws during the final minute Saturday night after Lanphier outscored Lincoln 16-0 in the third quarter to erase a 15-point halftime deficit. The Railers defeated the Lions, 46-43.

Considering that Lincoln christened Lanphier’s new gym on January 12 by using late free throws to beat Lanphier 55-54 after Lanphier sank a 3-pointer to take the lead with seconds left in the game, that added was even more fuel to intensify the Saturday rematch at Lincoln between the two Central State 8 foes.

Boys high school basketball games between Lincoln and Lanphier fit into that category of sports rivalries that, no matter how the rivals are faring in their seasons, the game between the two teams will always be exciting and usually close. Fans who checked the halftime score Saturday night believing the contest would be a nailbiter might have thought the tally was erroneous, as Lincoln led Lanphier 30-15 after the first half. Jesse Bates III hit a jumper with just under three minutes left in the opening quarter to put Lanphier ahead 10-7, but Lincoln ran off 19 unanswered points. When Drew Hayes made a field goal for Lincoln with 4:41 remaining in the first half, that capped a 19-0 run and the Railers led 26-10. Hayes led the Railers during the spurt with 8 points and Trey Schilling added 6.

Coach Neil Alexander

“I think we went in the locker room and we were pretty comfortable,” Lincoln head coach Neil Alexander said of his team’s break at halftime. “We went in, sat down, propped our feet up and said, ‘What are we going to do now?’ and were making plans for something else.”

Rivalry games usually seem to have close scores, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that Lanphier made a run following intermission. The Lions turned up their defensive pressure, forcing the Railers into 7 turnovers in the period as Lanphier added a pair of steals and a blocked shot. Offensively, the Lions missed only one shot in the stanza, hitting 7 of 8 field goals (including their lone 3-point attempt) to go along with 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line. On the other side of the ledger, Lincoln missed all five of its field goal attempts and a pair of free throws in the period. Jaiquan Holman’s field goal with 50 seconds left in the quarter capped a 16-0 offensive outburst by Lanphier and gave the Lions a 31-30 lead entering the final period.

“I know [Lanphier] Coach Turner pretty well,” Alexander said. “I’m sure he had a few choice words to say [at halftime]. They came out with fire in their belly and we didn’t respond very well.”

Trey Schilling

Senior Trey Schilling fired the opening salvo in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer to give the Railers a 32-31 lead. Trey’s trey was the first of 8 straight Railer points to open the period before Lanphier tallied the next 6 to cut the Lincoln lead to 1 at 38-37 with two minutes remaining.

The teams traded baskets on each of their next possessions to move the score to 40-39. It was then Schilling again hitting a clutch 3-pointer to increase the Railer lead to 43-39 with just over a minute remaining.

Lanphier then got a field goal from Bates, who was fouled on the shot. Lanphier’s Holman was fouled rebounding the missed Bates free throw and awarded a pair of free throws. Holman made both to knot the score at 43-all with 55 seconds remaining.

Lincoln inbounded the ball and advanced it near midcourt, where Holman was whistled for a foul against Karson Komnick with 49 seconds left in the period. Holman appeared to voice some displeasure with the foul call and a technical foul was called. Komnick made the first of the two foul shots, then Schilling drained the two free throws for the technical called, giving Lincoln a 46-43 lead.

“They got a technical foul, which was surprising,” Alexander said. “I didn’t see anything; the kid [Holman] just kind of threw up his hands. I don’t know if he said anything, but it was a heated game, and emotions are high.”

Drew Hayes

Following the shots for the technical, Drew Hayes inbounded the ball at midcourt for Lincoln. His pass bounced off the hands of Ki’on Carson and toward the baseline. Carson attempted an acrobatic save, but the official ruled he stepped on the endline before saving the ball, giving Lanphier possession near its own basket. The Lions maintained possession but couldn’t get a good look for a shot, so Lanphier called timeout with 21 seconds left. Afterwards, Lanphier held the ball up top and eventually got it to Jaiquan Holman, the player who hit the late 3-pointer for Lanphier in the January 12 game to give the Lions the late lead. This time, however, Lincoln’s Aidan Gowin was in the area to contest the shot, and Holman’s effort bounced off the front of the rim into the hands of Railer Frank Sanders. Sanders flipped the ball to Schilling, the final horn sounded and the Railers escaped with a 46-43 win.

Schilling led the Railers with 15 points as Drew Hayes added 12.

Shaunassey Hatchett Jr. scored 14 for Lanphier. Bates chipped in with 12.

Lincoln improved to 20-7 on the season as the Lions dropped to 14-14. The game did not count in the Central State 8 standings, as only the first meeting between schools that play multiple games in a season counts toward their CS8 records.

The Railers host Sacred Heart-Griffin on Tuesday. Lincoln defeated SH-G 38-35 back on December 2. Tipoff for the varsity game is scheduled for 7:30 PM with the junior varsity slated to begin at 6 PM.

[Loyd Kirby]