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Lincoln used a 20-8 run in the fourth quarter to finally pull
away from pesky Danville and capture a 69-54 win over the Vikings.
The game was a tennis match on a basketball court. The Railers would
run off a string of points, only to see Danville close the gap. Back
and forth the teams went until finally, in the fourth quarter,
Lincoln used the best run of the night to get the win.
Wednesday night's game was much different from opening night -- too
many turnovers, forcing shots, not taking the opportunity to take
time off the clock. Coach Neil Alexander was glad to get the win
but not happy with how his squad got there. "This was not how we
practice. This is not coaching, especially my teams," Alexander
said. "I've not had many games where we played like this. We took
too many bad shots, quick shots, too many turnovers; we just didn't
play smart."
Did I mention the Railers won? Yes, they won, but there was an air
of uneasiness from the crowd filing out into the November cold. They
watched their team win but realized a performance like this in
games against two of the top three teams in the state this weekend
could leave the Railers on the outside looking in when it comes to
playing for this year's Eaton Electrical Tournament championship. Tonight, it was the shooting of Jordan Nelson and the all-around
game from Nathaniel Smith that got Lincoln the win.
Nelson finished with a career-high 30 points on 9- of-17 shooting,
including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Nelson also established
himself on the defensive end by leading the team with five steals. On
this night, each time Lincoln needed a big shot, Nelson was the one
stepping up. After Lincoln took a 35-27 lead at the half, thanks to
a 7-0 run, it seemed like the Railers would finally be getting away
from Danville. However, Danville had other thoughts and used their
own run of eight points to tie the game at 35.
Coach Alexander called timeout at the 5:20 mark of the third, and
he was the only one talking in the huddle. Animated may be an
understatement, but the point was made. Like any well-coached team,
Lincoln came out of the timeout and scored on the out-of-bounds
play, as Nelson took a pass after a quick cut to the basket to
put the Railers up for good. Smith then scored the next
five points to give Lincoln a 42-35 lead.
Again, like your little brother that just won't go away, neither
would Danville. The Vikings scored six straight to get back within
one, but Nelson scored seven straight to end the third-quarter
scoring for Lincoln, including a four-point play to put Lincoln up
49-41. In fact, Nelson's 23 through three quarters set his career
high with still a quarter to go.
After a Reuben Bowlby basket to start the fourth, the rest of the
scoring for Lincoln was done by the threesome of Nelson, Smith and
Ben Brackney. The trio combined for 18 points in the fourth to
finally put Danville away. However, another area of concern was the
inability to find the hot shooter. "We did OK once we identified
No. 14 (D'Lando Carter) as their shooter," Alexander said.
"I mean, it only took us 28 minutes to do so. This is the type of
things we can't do and expect to win against teams like Althoff and
Centennial."
Smith, a junior, had a solid game, finishing with 15 points,
five rebounds and four steals. Ben Brackney, who tied his career
high on Monday with 22, did not have his best game, even though he
finished with 14 points. Brackney was 5 of 12 from the floor, led
the team in rebounds with seven and assists with five.
It may be a case where if two of the three are scoring, Lincoln
can win. If they are all on, they may be able to dominate.
Hopefully, as the weekend, and season, wears on, fatigue will not be
an issue. Brackney, Smith and Nelson all played the entire 32
minutes. This after they all played at least 30 minutes on Monday
night. At some point, they are going to need to find minutes on the
bench or the three will be exhausted by mid-January.
One positive from Alexander was his thoughts on the guys down
low. "I'm really pleased with our '5' guys (Brant Coyne and Reuben Bowlby)," Alexander added.
"I think they have been the one positive
so far in the two games." Coyne scored six and added six rebounds,
while Bowlby chipped in with four points.
[to top of second column] |
Lincoln's win over Danville kept them atop the tournament
standings along with Belleville Althoff and Champaign
Centennial, all at 2-0. In fact, it seems destined that these
three teams will be grouped together all season. The teams took
to the court tonight as the top three teams in the state of
Illinois in Class 3A (1. Centennial, 2. Lincoln, 3. Althoff).
Earlier in the night at Roy S. Anderson, Centennial routed
Rochester 86-37, while Althoff handled Cahokia 83-63 down in
southern Illinois.
Lincoln's next game will be Friday night against No. 3 Belleville Althoff. Game time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and, as always, you
are invited to check in Saturday morning for a recap of the
contest.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the Railer Nation!!
___
Lincoln (69)
Nelson 9-17 6-7 30, Smith 7-11 1-1 15, Brackney 5-12 4-6 14,
Coyne 3-4 0-0 6, Bowlby 1-1 2-2 4, Kirby 0-1 0-0 0, Turner 0-1
0-0 0. Team 25-47 13-16 69.
3-point FG 6-17 (Nelson 6-9, Brackney
0-4, Smith 0-2, Kirby 0-1, Turner 0-1), rebounds 28 (Brackney
7), assists 11 (Brackney 5), steals 12 (Nelson 5) turnovers 17.
Danville (54)
D. Carter 20, J. Robinson 16, Britt 6, Shaw 5, Morefield 4,
Hightower 3. Team 22-52 4-9.
3-point FG 6-23, rebounds 29,
assists 9, steals 11, turnovers 20.
End of first quarter: Lincoln 14, Danville 8
Halftime: Lincoln 35, Danville 27
End of third quarter: Lincoln 49, Danville 46
Other notes:
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Jordan Nelson's
six 3s give him 137 for his career and move
him to sixth, passing Josh Komnick (134) and David Pickering
(132). Next on the list is Cory Farmer, fifth with 142.
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Nelson's
set of six 3s also ties him for 13th for most made in a
single game. It is the 29th time it has happened. Last time?
Feb. 21 earlier this year by, you guessed it, Jordan Nelson.
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The win was
No. 431 as Lincoln coach for Neil Alexander,
No. 590 overall.
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It would be hard to argue that Reuben Bowlby has not been
perfect. So far, 3 of 3 from the field and perfect in six shots
from the free-throw line.
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Big thanks to Mitch Smith, who fashioned a broadcast table for
us that allows us to improve our view of the court.
[Special report by JEFF BENJAMIN]
(Railer
basketball reports)
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