East Peoria hands Railers 58-31
loss
[February 11, 2026]
EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- After playing one of their best games of
the season three days earlier, the Railer boys basketball team
faltered on the road, losing in running-clock fashion 58-31 at East
Peoria.
By no means was the game expected to be a cakewalk for the Railers.
East Peoria was ranked No. 8 in the IHSA Class 3A poll by the
Associated Press on January 28. However, the Railers entered the
game at East Peoria with a 22-6 record, and LCHS showed up at No. 13
in that same AP poll, receiving seven votes. So Lincoln certainly
had impressive credentials entering the game as well.
Unfortunately, the games aren’t decided by credentials and are
played out on the court. And Railer head coach Neil Alexander did
not like what he saw from his team on the court against East Peoria.
Head Coach Neil Alexander
“I’m really disappointed in our effort,” Alexander said. “We just
didn’t play. We came up here with the idea that we had no chance,
and it showed on the court. I’m disappointed in our mentality of how
we played…not just one [person], it was the whole team.”
In many ways, the Railer boys basketball game at East Peoria on
Tuesday was the polar opposite of Lincoln’s previous game, played
Feb. 7 against Lanphier.
In the game against Lanphier, LCHS played with sustained effort
throughout the contest—perhaps due in part to the extra adrenaline
generated from the buzz surrounding Railer head coach Neil Alexander
looking for his 1,000th career coaching victory. But whatever the
cause, the Railers fought hard and played tough throughout the
contest against Lanphier, building a lead against the Lions and
never allowing them to get back into the game.
“We took a lot of steps backwards [against East Peoria],” Alexander
said. “I can’t believe we played like we did Saturday night [against
Lanphier] and turn around tonight and play like we did. It’s
disappointing, but hopefully it will be an eye-opener for them [the
Railers].”
In the Lanphier game, the Railers came out hot, scoring a quick five
points. At East Peoria, it was just the opposite as the hosts put up
the first five points of the contest.
Brody Tungate got the Railers on the scoreboard with a long
three-pointer from near the East Peoria logo at half court, but East
Peoria continued to shoot well in the period. The Raiders scored
five more consecutive points to make the score 10-3, which prompted
the Railers to take a time out to regroup.
Up to the timeout, East Peoria made four of seven shots from the
floor, including two of five three-pointers. Unfortunately for
Lincoln, the Raiders didn’t slow down after the time out, hitting
three of seven field goal attempts, including two of three treys.
East Peoria held an 18-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
East Peoria showed no signs of slowing down in the second period.
Whenever Lincoln appeared to start clawing its way back, the Raiders
would score to negate any progress by LCHS or make a play to slow
any momentum the Railers started to build.
One sequence that occurred 90 seconds into the period illustrated
how the night went for Lincoln. Railer senior Karson Komnick drove
down the lane past Cole DuBois, but EP’s Quinton Kitt slid over to
help on defense. Kitt blocked the shot, and as it caromed out of
bounds, DuBois dove and saved it, tipping it to teammate Kingston
Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon launched the ball ahead to Jackson
Ahrens, who drew multiple Railer defenders by driving into the lane.
But Ahrens kicked the ball out and found DuBois, who hit the
three-pointer to increase the East Peoria lead.
[to top of second column] |
East Peoria continued its hot shooting for the duration of the
period, nailing 4 of 10 field goals in the frame, including 3 of 5
on two-pointers and all 4 free throws attempted. East Peoria led
33-15 at halftime.
The Raiders opened the third quarter with an 11-4 run to make the
score 44-19, as the Railers during the stretch could only muster a
pair of made free throws by Brody Tungate and an open layup by
Preston Short as he shook free from his defender.
But East Peoria continued to stay one step ahead of the Railers in
the frame, outscoring Lincoln 14-8 in the quarter to make the score
47-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
The deficit was too much for the Railers, and East Peoria eventually
went up by 30 points to initiate a running clock. The margin did
prompt Lincoln to use several players off the bench. Sophomore Ayden
Ferguson scored a couple baskets for the Railers in the quarter.
Unfortunately Lincoln didn’t make a comeback once the host school
built its sizeable lead. East Peoria defeated Lincoln, 58-31.
Alexander emphasized that whether a team hits shots or can’t seem to
make a basket, players can still play with energy and effort.
“Whether we win or lose, I’ve said it enough: come in and compete,”
he said. “Play hard. Do the things that we work on, and good things
happen. You’re not always going to come out on the right side of the
scoreboard, but with the approach we had tonight…it was not very
good.”
Karson Komnick
The Railers were led in scoring by Komnick with nine points. Tungate
added seven.
East Peoria was led by DuBois with 14 points.
The loss drops Lincoln’s overall record to 22-7. East Peoria
improves its overall record to 22-4.
Lincoln’s remaining schedule of regular-season games include:
• Fri 2/13/2026 @ 7 PM @ Springfield Southeast
• Fri 2/20/2026 @ 7 PM vs. Champaign Central
The IHSA boys postseason basketball tournament pairings and
schedules are slated to be released this Friday at 4 PM.
[Loyd Kirby]
 |
