Railers overcome cold 2nd-quarter
shooting to beat Granite City 46-37
[December 29, 2025]
COLLINSVILLE – It was a game of streaks for the Railer boys
basketball team against Granite City in the opening round of the
Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic Tournament. And
fortunately for Lincoln, the Railers overcame a cold second quarter
with a strong second half and held on to beat Granite City in a
46-37 victory.
Karson Komnick
Lincoln jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a pair of baskets by Karson
Komnick and a three-pointer by Tate Aue. Following a Granite City
timeout, the Railers outscored their opponents 6-5 in the remainder
of the period to hold a 13-5 lead going into the second quarter.
The Railers shot a respectable 50 percent from the field in the
opening frame, hitting four of seven on two-pointers and one of
three three-pointers.
Unfortunately for Lincoln, cold shooting and increased intensity by
the Warriors resulted in a low-scoring second quarter for the
Railers. Lincoln could only muster one point in the second stanza
while Granite City tallied nine points in the frame. The Railers
missed all seven field goals they attempted in the quarter,
including three attempted treys. Granite City took advantage and
pulled even with Lincoln 14-14 at halftime.
Each team hit a free throw for their opening points of the second
half before Lincoln went on an 8-0 run. LCHS got two baskets apiece
from seniors Komnick and Brody Tungate and held a 23-15 advantage
three minutes into the third quarter. The Warriors went on to
outscore Lincoln 8-5 in the remainder of the period to make the
score 28-22 in favor of the Railers.
Brody Tungate
Tungate then put the Railers on his back to start the fourth period
as he scored eight unanswered points on three field goals and a pair
of free throws. Komnick added a field goal to give Lincoln 10
straight points and build the largest lead for Lincoln at 38-22 near
the midway point of the period.
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Granite City then turned up its defensive intensity, using a
run-and-jump defense to double-team Lincoln’s ball handler. The
pressure resulted in three Lincoln turnovers; Xavier Harris scored
six straight points for the Warriors to cut the lead to 10. Granite
City then began to foul to stop the clock from running, but Lincoln
hit eight of 12 free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 46-37
victory.
“We didn’t play very smart down the stretch,” said Lincoln coach
Neil Alexander following the game. “But we also learned some things
that we’ve got to know and understand. It’s just knowing what you’ve
got to do.”
Alexander added that Granite City’s physical style of play on
defense, coupled with the officiating of the game, might have
impacted the approach of his players in taking the ball to the
basket on offense.
“I’m pretty prejudiced for our kids,” Alexander said, “but I think
they just beat the snot out of us when we went to the basket and
then we got no calls. And then we quit going to the basket because
we weren’t getting the calls.”
There has been some talk that high school basketball would be more
exciting to watch if there was more scoring; this prompted the
addition of the shot clock to the game (which will become standard
for all games in the 2026-27 season). Alexander said that if the
Illinois High School Association wants to see more scoring in the
game, it should look at how games are officiated.
“If the IHSA wants scoring, you’ve got to have them [the referees]
call the game,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re going to
increase scoring in the high school game. We played with a shot
clock tonight, and we got what…forty points?”
Tungate led the Railers with 21 points. Komnick added 17 points.
Granite City was led by Javier Cass with a dozen points and Evan
Brewer with 11 points.
Lincoln shot 37.5 from the field (15 for 40) for the game while the
Warriors hit 14 of 36 (38.9 percent). The Railers won the game at
the free throw line, hitting 14 of 22 from the charity stripe while
Granite City made four of nine from the foul line.
The win was Lincoln’s sixth straight victory and moves the Railers’
record to 10-2. With the win, Lincoln moves on in the winners’
bracket of the tournament to face Decatur MacArthur in a 2:30 PM
game on Sunday, December 29.
“I think they’re good enough to make a run at the state championship
later on,” Alexander said of MacArthur. “They’re deep. They’re
quick. They’re aggressive. They can shoot it. They’re great
athletes. Their defense makes things happen. It will be interesting
tomorrow.”
[Loyd Kirby] |
