Railers get closer to full strength, end 3-game skid with 37-32 win over U-High

 

[January 25, 2025]  LINCOLN – The Railer boys basketball team broke its three-game losing streak with a 37-32 win over University High School of Normal. And while the victory was a most welcome one after the Railers had dropped their last three games, just as meaningful was the fact that the contest marked the first time in months coach Neil Alexander had his full roster available.

It had been eight seasons since the Railers had lost three consecutive contests. The last time occurred when Lincoln lost its last three games in the 2016 Collinsville holiday tournament, falling to Edwardsville 42-32, Eisenhower 38-31 and MacArthur 51-41.

But the victory against U-High on Friday night did not come without some late drama. Lincoln led by 13 points with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Pioneer run-and-jump defense caused the Railers some problems, and when Devin Fitzgerald hit a three-pointer for U-High with three seconds left in the game, Lincoln led by a precarious 35-32 margin.

“I thought we played defensively 26 (to) 28 minutes of pretty solid defense, and then I don’t know what kicked in,” Alexander said. “We gambled and let them have wide open looks where you’ve got to make them move the ball. And you’ve got to be able to put them away.”

Gabe Smith

Following the Fitzgerald trey, U-High fouled Railer Gabe Smith, who hit a pair of free throws to secure the win for the Railers. Lincoln moves to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in the Central State 8 with the win.

Seniors Drew Hayes and Frank Sanders, both sidelined for the last several weeks with nagging injuries, both got some playing time as they work their way back into game shape. Their presence on the court seemed to give Lincoln a spark as it allowed Alexander to rotate players back to their usual positions on the court.

Frank Sanders

Both seniors snagged three rebounds apiece for Lincoln as Hayes tallied six points while Sanders added two points.

“I thought they got the time that they needed, trying to get back in shape when you haven’t worked out in four or five weeks,” Alexander said of Hayes and Sanders. “I mean, there’s been absolutely no cardio conditioning. I thought they both did pretty well for the time that they were on the floor.”

Early on, it appeared the Railers were in for another sluggish night offensively. Lincoln didn’t get on the scoreboard until three minutes had elapsed in the game when Brody Tungate hit a three-pointer. Fortunately for LCHS, U-High had only managed to tally one point, so Lincoln led 3-1. That started a 12-0 run by the Railers, during which Hayes checked into the contest for his first action in weeks. All of 10 seconds elapsed on the clock after he checked in before Hayes scored his first points of the game for Lincoln. The presence of the senior also helped as Lincoln tried to move the ball upcourt against the U-High pressure defense late in the game.

“He gives us a whole different look like that when he can see over things,” Alexander said of the 6-foot-5 Hayes. “Blake [Horn] has done a good job up there, but adding three or four more inches… that does help.”

The Pioneers notched a field goal before the end of the first period and trailed 12-3 heading into the second quarter.

The teams played fairly evenly through the middle two quarters, as U-High outscored the Railers 9-8 in the second frame and Lincoln bested the Pioneers 7-4 in the third period to give LCHS a 27-16 advantage going into the last stanza.

The final quarter scoring went back and forth, with U-High seemingly able to match or best Lincoln’s production. Gabe Smith hit a field goal for Lincoln to make the score 29-16, but the Pioneers’ next tally was a three-pointer by Owen Kirby to pull U-High to within 10 at 29-19. Lincoln got two points from Hayes, which was matched by U-High’s Kirby, then Smith got another field goal for Lincoln to make it 33-21. Kirby then hit a three pointer for U-High to cut the Railer lead to single digits at 33-24. AJ Holden hit a two-pointer before Tungate hit a free throw for Lincoln to move the score to 34-26. Cameron Johnson converted an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the Railer lead to 34-29. Komnick hit a free throw to increase Lincoln’s advantage to 35-29, but Devin Fitzgerald drained a trey to pull U-High closer at 35-32. Smith hit a pair of free throws for the Railers with 0.6 seconds on the clock to seal Lincoln’s win 37-32.

Karson Komnick

Komnick led Lincoln with 11 points. Smith chipped in with nine, Tungate had seven, Hayes contributed six and Sanders and Brady Miller each added two points. Lincoln shot 33 percent (12 of 36) from the floor, including 4 of 15 (27 percent) on three pointers. The Railers also made 4 of 9 (44 percent) free throws and committed 12 turnovers in the contest.

The Railers host Rock Island in a 6:30 PM nonconference game Saturday.

[Loyd Kirby]