Four Railers score in
double-figures as Lincoln beats Southeast, 58-41
[February 14, 2026]
SPRINGFIELD – For the first time this season, the Railer
basketball team had four players score in double-figures as Lincoln
beat Southeast 58-41.
LCHS had three players score or more points in a game multiple times
this season—most recently on February 7 against Lanphier when Coach
Neil Alexander got career win no. 1000 in his coaching career. And
while Coach Alexander was pleased with the balanced scoring from his
team, he lamented the Railers’ rebounding in his postgame assessment
of the game.
“We do so many different things that we can get other people
involved,” Alexander said. “But the bottom line is you’ve got to
rebound. You can’t give them second and third opportunities. If we’d
have just rebounded only, it would’ve been a larger margin.
“We’ve just got to be able to come out and play and play smart and
we’ll be fine.”
Southeast dominated on the glass, outrebounding Lincoln by a 31-14
margin. The Spartans grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, the same number
of total rebounds LCHS had for the game. Even so, Alexander saw some
areas in which he liked his squad’s performance.
“We didn’t do a very good job rebounding,” Alexander said. “I
thought we handled their pressure and did some better things tonight
than what we’d done. But we didn’t rebound very well and gave them
too many second and third opportunities.”
Preston Short
The hosts took a 2-0 lead when Josiah Turner hit a turnaround jumper
in the lane for the first points of the game. But Preston Short
nailed a three pointer for the Railers to give Lincoln its first
lead at 3-2.
Short has seen increased playing time as of late after beginning the
season unable to play due to a broken collarbone. He returned in
early January, and after initially seeing short, sporadic bits of
playing time, he has earned more and more court time as he has
gotten his conditioning back. The first half against Southeast was
Short’s best half of basketball this season for the Railers, as he
hit four three-pointers and led all scorers in the first half with
13 points.
LCHS never trailed after Short hit the trey that gave Lincoln that
3-2 lead, but that’s not to say the game was a cakewalk for the
Railers.
Bryce Vlahovich
Southeast made it a one-point game when Aaron Holman hit a pair of
free throws to make it 8-7. But the Railers got back-to-back treys
from Short and Bryce Vlahovich to double the Spartans’ score at
14-7. But the hosts outscored LCHS 4-1 to close the period and cut
the Railer lead to 15-11.
Lincoln opened the second frame by scoring eight consecutive points
on a field goal by Karson Komnick and a pair of three pointers from
Short, ballooning the Railer lead to 23-11 Later in the period,
Brody Tungate converted a three-point play to give LCHS its largest
advantage to that point at 28-15. But Southeast’s Lamar Coleman hit
a last-second halfcourt shot as time expired in the period to cut
the Lincoln lead to 10 points at 28-18.
[to top of second column] |
Karson Komnick
After intermission, the Spartans got a three-pointer from Tra'mail
Kirkwood and a field goal from Turner to trim the Railer lead 28-23.
But Lincoln answered with an 11-2 run over the next three-plus
minutes to push the lead back to double-digits. During the offensive
outburst, Komnick scored five points, Vlahovich added a trey, Tate
Aue made a pair of free throws and Tungate hit one free throw to
give Lincoln a 39-24 advantage.
But the Spartans outscored the Railers 9-7 in the remainder of the
stanza to trail 46-33 heading into the final period.
Southeast’s Turner opened the scoring in the final quarter when he
grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the putback shot to make it
46-35. That was as close as the Spartans would get for the remainder
of the contest, as the Lincoln lead ebbed and flowed, getting as
large as 18 when Vlahovich hit his fourth three-pointer of the night
to make the score 56-38. Lincoln went on to win 58-41.
Although the final margin of victory was 17 points, the game felt
closer and tighter throughout the contest, due in large part to the
intensity of play.
“They’re an up-and-coming team,” Alexander said of Southeast. “They
play hard. They work hard. They’re quick. They’ve got a couple of
shooters that sit out there and everything. They were very
physical.”
Komnick led the Railer offense with 15 points while Short added 13
points. Vlahovich and Tungate each finished with a dozen points for
Lincoln.
Turner led Southeast with 10 points.
The win moves Lincoln’s overall record to 23-7. Southeast falls to
4-24. Results of the contest did not count in the Central State 8
standings.
Lincoln’s last regular-season game is at home Friday against
Champaign Central and will be senior recognition night. The Railers
will then begin the IHSA postseason tournament as a host for
regionals and a February 25 home game against Eisenhower. As long as
the team continues winning, here is the team’s postseason slate of
games:
• Wed 2/25 @ 6 PM - IHSA Regional vs. Eisenhower at Roy S. Anderson
Gym, Lincoln
• Fri 2/27 @ 7 PM - IHSA Regional vs. Mt. Zion or Springfield at Roy
S. Anderson Gym, Lincoln
• Wed 3/4 @ 7 PM - IHSA Sectional vs. Bloomington Regional Winner at
Mahomet-Seymour HS
• Fri 3/6 @ 7 PM - IHSA Sectional Final at Mahomet-Seymour HS
• Mon 3/9 @ 7 PM - IHSA Super-Sectional vs. Waterloo Sectional
Winner at Springfield/BOS Center (Southeast host)
• Fri 3/13 @ 11:45 AM - IHSA State Semifinals vs. Chicago Super
Sectional Winner at University of Illinois State Farm Center
• Fri 3/13 @ 7 PM - IHSA State 3rd place (if lose 3/13 @ 11:45 AM)
at University of Illinois State Farm Center
• Sat 3/14 @ 4 PM - IHSA State Finals (if win 3/13 @ 11:45 AM) at at
University of Illinois State Farm Center
[Loyd Kirby]
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