Senior sharp-shooter Schilling subdues Senators; Railers win 62-39

 

[January 10, 2024]  Lincoln – It may have taken half a season, but the LCHS boys basketball team may have found its formula for success as the calendar turned to January as Lincoln defeated Springfield 62-39.

The formula Lincoln seems to have adopted is: score, withstand an offensive surge by the opposition, score some more, win.

The Railers raced out to a 9-0 lead as Trey Schilling hit 2 of his 6 3-pointers on the night in the first quarter surge. LCHS led 15-5 after the stanza.

Springfield clawed its way closer in the second period, outscoring LCHS 10-7 to give the Railers a 22-15 halftime advantage.

Railer Drew Hayes opened the scoring with a free throw in the third quarter, but the Senators hit a pair of field goals to pull to within four points at 23-19. Karson Komnick hit a 3-pointer to extend the Lincoln lead to 7, but Springfield hit a field goal and free throw to inch closer at 26-22.

At this point, Schilling nailed a pair of 3-pointers to extend Lincoln’s lead double digits at 32-22. Following a Senator field goal, Lincoln scored the last 10 points of the quarter on a pair of 3-pointers by Komnick and Schilling along with field goals by Schilling and Sanders. Lincoln outscored Springfield 20-9 in the quarter and led 42-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Lincoln led 49-29 before Springfield went on a 7-point run to cut the lead to 49-36. The Railers outscored Springfield 13-3 in the remainder of the quarter to win 62-39.

The script for the win over Springfield mirrored the recipe Lincoln followed in defeating Glenwood in the Railers’ previous game. In that contest, the Railers opened on an 11-0 run en route to a 24-12 halftime lead. Glenwood regrouped and cut Lincoln’s lead to 27-23 after three quarters, but the Railers kept Glenwood in check in the last period and won 40-36.

The formula in defeating Springfield mirrored the one followed against Glenwood: score, withstand, score, win. The “score” portions of that recipe were aided by the sizzling shooting of the Railers. Lincoln shot 61.1 percent (22 of 36) overall from the field, including hitting 15 of 21 shots (71.4 percent) in the second half. The Railers were almost as good from 3-point territory, knocking down 9 of 15 attempts (60 percent) for the game, including hitting 6 of 7 3-pointers after halftime.

While Lincoln led wire to wire in its games against Glenwood and Springfield, neither game felt particularly comfortable as far as the game being in hand until the latter stages of the contests. Against Springfield, Lincoln didn’t seem to get into a flow offensively until the Railers brought the Senators out of their matchup zone defense. Once Lincoln got the Senators out of their most effective defensive scheme, the Railers were able to operate more effectively.

Coach Neil Alexander

“That was their best defense,” Alexander said of Springfield’s matchup zone. “You get them out of it, and then you saw what happened as far as after we kind of adjusted and we got to the basket and just shot layup after layup.”

Trey Schilling

Offensively, the evening belonged to Railer Trey Schilling, who led all scorers with 22 points. The senior hit 7 of 11 overall field goal attempts, including scoring on 6 of 8 3-pointers as well as hitting both his free throw attempts for the night.

Gabe Smith

Gabe Smith added 11 for Lincoln and Karson Komnick scored 10.

Noah Wade led Springfield with 9 points.

With the win, Lincoln moves to 12-5 on the season. Springfield falls to 3-10.

Up next for the Railers is a Friday night Central State 8 matchup at Lanphier against the Lions. Lanphier is slated to hold the inaugural game in its new basketball facilities on January 12.

“I’m sure they’ll have a good crowd because of opening the new gym,” Alexander said. “Everybody will be excited to see what it’s like. Hopefully, we’ll have a good following to help support our kids and help us step out and pick another one up.

“They’re going to be pumped. Our guys are going to have to step up and take care of business.”

Tipoff for the game at Lanphier Is scheduled for 7 PM.

The Railers return home on January 13 to host state-ranked Quincy, champions of the Collinsville holiday tournament. Game time is slated for 7 PM.

[Loyd Kirby