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Railers dump Southeast *Sets up interesting rematch with Mt. Zion* *By Jeff Mayfield* [MARCH 3, 2001] First the Railers were forced to play a switched seed in the first round of the regionals. They also found out that point guard Paris Williams would be lost for the season after suffering a knee injury at Peoria Richwoods. In a building that they have not played well in the last few years as evidenced by the 68-48 shellacking they received there back on Jan. 13th, many were miffed at how confident Lincoln seemed to be coming into last night's regional.
So, it's safe to say that State Journal-Register reporter Robert Burns wasn't the only surprised person in Sheffler gym last night as a capacity crowd watched Neil Alexander's Railers put on a clinic in a dominating 73-61 upset over Southeast. Some guys strain and struggle over chasing records, but Gregg Alexander seems to relish it. Perhaps, it's because of his 'team first' attitude. He told the LDN that he didn't care if he scored a point and didn't get the record as long as the Railers could advance. That is probably why he was so relaxed and calmly went out and put up 39 points on the board! When he broke the record on a turn-around jumper early in the 3rd quarter, the always very knowledgeable Railer fans gave Gregg a tremendous and much deserved standing ovation. What they didn't know was that Alexander was just getting started. He hit 13-of-22 shots from the field and now stands as Lincoln High School's all-time scoring leader with 2,054...an incredible feat, any way you slice it or dice it! He also helped give his dad yet another 20-win season and yet another regional championship trophy! Chad Tungate also continued his stellar play by dissecting the Spartan defense with unbelievable penetration moves to the hoop. Then when they backed-off, Tungate lit them up with the three-ball and he finished the night with 19 points. J.T Ashley also turned in an outstanding performance. In the first half he attacked the boards and when he couldn't pull the carom down he tipped it back out to the guards to reset the offensive. He ignited the team to be quicker to the ball on the boards and on loose balls all night long. He appears to be healthy now and is making major contributions as this team advances. And what can you say about the play of Cory Farmer? Thrust into the starting line-up due to the injury to Williams all Farmer did was control the game! He knew how to get the ball to Alexander and seemed to refuse to make a turnover. The Spartans tried to rattle him by sending him to the line and he foiled that plan by drilling the free throws. The fact that he has come in and stepped-up has helped us advance this far and may take us a lot farther! Adam Schonauer also continued his impressive string of solid, dependable games. As far as the LDN is concerned he is Lincoln's most improved player...and he wasn't bad last year. He is such a tremendous post passer as he demonstrated once again last night and he's not afraid to mix it up on the boards or on defense. [to top of second column in this article]	Derek Schrader also turned in an outstanding performance in last night's win. He possesses a "Rodman-like" ability to be wherever the ball is. When our guards penetrate to the basket, Derek is always somewhere near the goal to cash-in on the bunnies...and if they foul him, just chalk-up the three points! He is also not bashful when it comes to taking a 3 every now and then, and he can hit 'em! Mike Aper and Brandon Welch also gave some quality minutes off the bench. That is a good sign when you consider that at any time in the next few games they may be called on to help spell the starters. An assist here, a rebound there, everyone understanding their role and executing it is a staple in coach Alexander's system. Assistant coaches Ewald, Aeilts, Worth and Osborn have demonstrated once again the brilliance of their scouting measures. The last two games the Railer coaching staff has really been clicking. Now the attention turns to Tuesday night's Sectional semi-final versus #2 Mt. Zion. On press row last night just as it’s been all season, no one seemed to give Lincoln much of a chance in that contest. They said that Mt. Zion has been dominant all year, that they've been ranked and that they have three Division I signees. The before mentioned Burns told me earlier in the year that this season it was going to be all Lanphier and Southeast. I encouraged him not to overlook the Railers, but he stuck by his guns. The LDN says however, don't be surprised to see the Railers playing for the sectional championship next Friday night. Because last night in Springfield, Neil and the boys put on a clinic! Good luck next week, Railers! Railer notes... The Railers season record now stands at 20-8. The game Tuesday against Mt. Zion is an interesting rematch of two teams that played for the State championship when they were 7th graders. Mt. Zion narrowly won the game on their home court, but Lincoln had beaten them at LJHS earlier that same season. A former Railer assistant coach suggested to Coach Alexander who then met with athletic director, Darrell Hanslow about playing a regular season game versus Jacksonville in the PCCC. The whole idea was to give the Railers a game on the floor in Springfield just in case Lincoln would advance to the sectionals. I love it when a plan comes together!!! [Jeff Mayfield]

Boys high school basketball [MARCH 3, 2001]
Class A sectionals Illini Central vs. IVC The Cougars swept IVC at Dunlap keeping the leading edge all four quarters. Quarter scores: 18 - 14, 35 - 22, 47 - 33, 62 - 50. With 4 leading scorers; Arnold 13, Fletcher 13, Hankins 13, and Grimsley 11. Fletcher made two 3-point field goals and Arnold had one. Team stats: Arnold 5-2-3, Deters 1-4-6, Miller 2-0-4, Grimsley 4-3-11, Fletcher 5-1-13, Hankins 6-1-13, Giesler 1-0-2, Mulford, Herman, Cunningham, Scott; totaling 24 field goals, 11 free throws, for 62 points. Class AA Regionals Lincoln vs. Springfield Southeast It was a fierce game between the Railsplitters and the Spartans, but Lincoln kept the lead all four quarters. Starting with a 2 point lead in the first quarter, 12 - 10; the Railer's added 20 more points as Southeast only added 13 to be 32 - 23 at the half. The Spartan's were not going to just roll-over, riled by Lincoln's 9 point lead, they rallied and rolled into action picking up 14 points to Lincoln's 12 point gain, narrowing the gap to a 7 point difference, 44 - 37 at the end of the third quarter. Fired-up Lincoln poured in 29 more points, while the Spartans added 24 to a final score 73 - 61. Quarter scores: 12 - 10, 32 - 23, 44 - 37, 73 - 61. Lincoln team stats: Alexander 13-9-39, Tungate 6-6-19, Schonauer 0-2-2, Farmer 1-4-6, Schrader 3-1-7, Welch, Aper, Gallagher, Ashley, Komnick, and Knopp; totaling 23 field goals, 22 free throws, for 73 points. [LDN]

Junior high girls volleyball [MARCH 3, 2001] Bloomington defeated Olympia 15-4, 15-6 (championship).


Boys high school basketball [MARCH 2, 2001]
Hartsburg-Emden vs. Central Catholic Hartsburg-Emden’s sophomore basketball team beat Central Catholic during the Hartsburg-Emden Sophomore Basketball Tournament. The final score of the game was 37-27. [LDN]


Railers march on Get rematch with Springfield Southeast [MARCH 1, 2001] Led by the electrifying play of senior All-Stater Gregg Alexander, the Lincoln Railers took out Decatur-MacArthur 76-48 in Lincoln last night. With an amazing 38-point performance Alexander became only the second Railer in history to cross the 2,000-point plateau. Gregg finished the night 14-of-24 from the field and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.
However, it may have been coach Neil Alexander’s timeout just three minutes into the game that really got the Railers going. Up until that point the Generals were having their way with the Railers in the paint, and their zone defense was forcing Lincoln to rush and maybe take some quick, ill-advised shots. Not only did the Railsplitters calm down after the timeout, but even better for the Roy S. Anderson faithful, they went on a rampage! Chad Tungate also had a great night for the Railers, tallying 16 points and stretching Decatur’s defense all over the floor. The victory sets up a rematch with Southeast (assuming SE held on to win their game) Friday night in Springfield. I hope to see a huge contingent of Railer fans at Southeast Friday to encourage and support our boys on into the sectionals. Good luck, Railers! [Jeff Mayfield] Note: Springfield Southeast 64, Decatur Eisenhower 62 (OT) (Other scores posted at http://www.ihsa.org/scores/index.htm#BKB-01AA)

Boys high school basketball [MARCH 1, 2001]
Class A Illini Central vs. El Paso Yesterday afternoon, Illini Central’s boys basketball team faced off against El Paso in Dunlap for the Class A sectionals. Illini Central maintained a steady lead over El Paso in every quarter, to win 64-53. Hankins scored almost a third of the team’s points, with 20. He made seven field goals and six free throws. Arnold aided the Cougars with 13 points. He scored one 3-pointer and five field goals. Fletcher shot one 3-pointer, three field goal and two free throws to equal 11 points. Grimsley earned 10 points with one 3-pointer, one field goal and five free throws. Jo. Deters made five points, Giesler made three points and Miller made two points for Illini Central. As a team, the Cougars scored four 3-pointers, 18 field goals and 16 free throws. El Paso earned three 3-pointers, 20 field goals and four free throws. Class AA LCHS vs. Decatur MacArthur Lincoln Community High School’s boys welcomed Decatur MacArthur to Lincoln for a basketball game. Lincoln trampled MacArthur 76-48. Alexander made exactly half of his team’s points. He earned 38 points with five 3-pointers, nine field goals and five free throws. Tungate scored the second-highest number of points: 16. He made two 3-pointers and five field goals. Ashley shot six points. Peters and Welch both earned four points for the Railsplitters. Schrader scored three points. Both Werner and Knopp made two points, and Bunch made one point. The team’s totals are as follows: seven 3-pointers, 23 field goals and six free throws. MacArthur made a total of one 3-pointer, 17 field goals and 11 free throws. [LDN]

Lincoln College vs. Spoon River [MARCH 1, 2001] Lincoln College’s basketball teams faced off against Spoon River yesterday evening in Canton. Both the Lady Lynx and Lynx were victorious.
Lady Lynx In the first half, the Lady Lynx more than doubled their opponent’s points. In the second half, the teams made almost the same number of points. Lincoln won 81-57. Lott scored more than a fourth of the team’s points, with 23. She made 11 field goals and one free throw. Beebe, McLaughlin and Dawson really boosted the team as well. Beebe made 14 points with one 3-pointer, four field goals and three free throws. McLaughlin shot one 3-pointer, four field goals and one free throw to equal 12 points. Dawson scored two field goals and seven free throws, or 11 points. Sheley made eight points for Lincoln. She shot two 3-pointers and two free throws. Dullard made five points, and Sotry made four points. Bausley and Massenburg each made two points for the Lady Lynx. As a team, Lincoln scored four 3-pointers, 27 field goals and fifteen free throws. Spoon River’s ladies made only five 3-pointers, 15 field goals and 12 free throws. [to top of second column in this section]	Lynx The men’s game appeared to be a reverse of the ladies’ game. In the first half, Lincoln and Spoon River were only two points apart, but in the second, Lincoln pulled ahead. Lincoln won the game 90-75. Marlon Brooks made 25 points — over a quarter of the Lynx total. Brooks shot one 3-pointer, nine field goals and four free throws. Jay Bates, Creston Coleman and Eric Crockrell also played a major role in the game. Bates made five field goals and eight free throws, or 18 points. Coleman made 17 points for the Lynx with one 3-pointer, four field goals and six free throws. Crockrell shot six field goals and four free throws, or 16 points. Brian Moffitt contributed six points to Lincoln’s game. Ryan Brinker made four points, and Gene Reed and Michael Sams each made two points. Lincoln made two 3-pointers, 29 field goals and 26 free throws total. Altogether, Spoon River’s men scored three 3-pointers, 24 field goals and 18 free throws. Yesterday night’s win clinches the CCCI for the Lincoln men for the second consecutive season. Their CCCI record is 11 wins and two losses, and their overall record is 23 wins and six losses. [LDN]


Olympia girls named to Corn Belt all-conference team [FEB. 28, 2001] The Corn Belt all-conference basketball team includes several Olympia players. Tricia Gaither has been named to first team. Receiving honorable mention are three other Olympia teammates: Laura Doombos, Mindy Bachman and Nicole Prager. Named to the all-star team is Mindy Bachman, with Nicole Prager chosen as alternate.

Lincoln hockey players on championship team
[FEB. 28, 2001] Two Lincoln boys participated in the Chicago Cup Showdown Hockey Tournament this past weekend at The Edge Ice Arenas in Bensenville. Dylan Miller, 6, and Halen Sampson, 7, along with their teammates in the Springfield Kings Mite A Division, won the championship over Littleton, Colo., in double overtime. Dylan attends Jefferson School and Halen attends Northwest School.


Gregg Alexander chosen [FEB. 27, 2001] The LDN has learned that Lincoln Railer sharpshooter Gregg Alexander has been selected to the 2001 Class AA All-State basketball team!
Gregg and Thornwood's Eddie Curry were the only underclassmen to be so recognized last season, when Gregg was named as a member of the third team, according to a panel of Associated Press sportswriters and broadcasters. It may be more amazing that he made it this year, as he was double-teamed, boxed and oned, and elbowed and punched almost every night; and yet he is on the verge of becoming Lincoln High School's all-time leading scorer! On behalf of the LDN, nice going, Gregg! Alexander and the Railers begin the postseason Wednesday night, when they host Decatur-MacArthur at 7:30 p.m. It would be great to pack the place and help the Railers make a deep run in the IHSA playoffs. Good luck, Railers! [Jeff Mayfield]