Railer boys basketball team earns 4th straight victory with 43-30 win over Mattoon

 

[February 01, 2025]  MATTOON – As of late, the modus operandi for the Lincoln boys basketball team has been to build a lead by halftime, and then allow it to wilt away in the third quarter to make for a closely-contested game down the stretch.

Friday night’s game in Mattoon didn’t totally flip the script, but it was a step in the right direction as Lincoln beat former Apollo Conference foe Mattoon, 43-30.
 

Lincoln led 10-7 after one quarter and 19-13 at halftime. But Mattoon pecked away at the Railer advantage, and after Chandler Rice hit a short jumper in the lane for the Green Wave a few minutes into the third quarter, the score stood knotted at 24-all.

Karson Komnick

If Lincoln was to follow the pattern of the past few games, this would be the point where the offense goes cold, the opposition finds gaps in the defense and Lincoln finds itself in a struggle. But on this night, the Railsplitters instead showed more resilience as they extended their lead. Karson Komnick drained a trey and followed that up with a free throw. Blake Horn made a strong drive down the lane to hit a left-handed layup. Komnick picked up a loose ball and took it to the hoop for two more points. The Railers ran off 10 consecutive points, going on a 14-1 run to extend their lead to double digits. Lincoln outscored Mattoon 15-6 in the fourth period.
 

“We really wanted to win the fourth quarter,” said Lincoln coach Neil Alexander after the game. “The fourth quarter has been our downfall, but tonight we did a much better job.”

Frank Sanders

With their fourth consecutive victory, Lincoln moves to 14-8 overall on the season. The Railers were led by Komnick’s 20 points. Frank Sanders added eight points, Gabe Smith scored six, Drew Hayes tallied five and Horn and Brady Miller had two points apiece.

Mattoon drops to 6-17 on the season. The Green Wave was led by Cole Larson with nine points.

“They’re a scary team,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said of Mattoon after the game. “I think they’ve only won six games, but they’ve got a lot of sophomores and even a freshman out there; I think the future is really bright for them.

“They put us in situations that no other team has put us in. We struggled a little bit at times, but we were able to overcome it.”

Lincoln benefited from having nearly its full rotation of players available for the contest. Komnick, Hayes and Sanders continue to log more time on the court as they work their way back from injuries. Having a nearly-full complement of players allowed Alexander to be more intentional with lineups he puts on the court in certain situations—such as using a taller lineup if there’s a height advantage, or a quicker lineup when working against an effective pressure defense—rather than essentially being restricted to simply use whoever was healthy.

Brody Tungate, who had been playing well in recent games, was unavailable due to a deep bruise that continues to hamper his movement.

Lincoln hosts Taylorville--another former Apollo opponent—in a 7 PM game on February 1. The Railers then have a five-day break from game action before—thanks to rescheduled/makeup games--playing five contests in six days. Lincoln has a February 6 makeup game at home against Glenwood before travelling to Eisenhower on February 7 and Lanphier February 8. The Railers then host Bloomington on February 10 in a makeup game before trekking to Sacred Heart-Griffin for a February 11 tilt.

[Loyd Kirby]