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 On a day when the pairings were released by the IHSA, laying out
every team's potential map to Peoria, the Railers exhibited play
that will not get them out of their own regional come tournament
time.
If there was anything being done on Friday night, SHG did it
better. Whether it was shooting, rebounding, defending, hustling,
you name it, the Cyclones had "the look," while Lincoln just looked
bewildered.
In a game that had the biggest margin at four points through the
first three quarters, it looked like another nip-and-tuck Friday
night battle in the CS8. Lincoln's largest lead came at 29-26, while SHG's was at 8-4. But the fourth quarter... oh, the fourth quarter.
SHG led 45-44 going into the fourth. The lead was at one after
Lincoln senior Jordan Nelson converted a turnover into a layup as
time expired in the third. Most in attendance were hoping this would
be the point of the game when the Railers' defense would take over.
Instead, it was really the final highlight of the night as the final
eight minutes were dominated by SHG.
 The Cyclones hit 7 of 11 shots in the quarter, including three of
four from 3-point range, to outdistance the Railers 20-8 in the
quarter and pick up win No. 18 on the year. SHG is now 11-4 in the
conference, good enough to bypass Lincoln for second place. The
Railers dropped to 10-4 in Central State Eight play, only half a
game ahead of fourth-place Lanphier.
Lincoln coach Neil Alexander was just as shocked by his team's
performance. "We've got to play defense and we have to play with
effort," Alexander said. "We also can't depend on just two players
to score -- if we do that, then we're going to lose a lot of games."
Alexander was referring to Nelson (19) and senior Nathaniel Smith
(24) scoring 43 of the team's 52 points. Nelson, who last week
scored 27 of his school-record 48 points in the fourth quarter, was
held scoreless in the fourth on Friday night. Smith had 15 of his
game-high 24 points in the second half. Only four other players
scored for the Railers and it was well spread out. In the first
quarter, Brant Coyne (2) and Austin Kirby (3) had their only points
of the night. Christian Van Hook's only basket came in the second
quarter. After Smith and Nelson took care of the scoring in the
third, Jordan Gesner scored Lincoln's last basket late in the game
on a layup that did nothing but change the final margin.
Coach Alexander's frustration not only revolved around Friday night,
but also looking ahead to the ultimate goal. "This is the
time of year you want to be playing well, but right now, we're
heading in the wrong direction," he said. In regard to
the regional at Lincoln with SHG, Springfield, Lanphier and Morton, Alexander said: "Any one of the five teams could win this regional." More games like
Friday night, and the Railers will be watching someone else celebrating
at midcourt.
The one-point losses, last-second shots, the overtime games, those
hurt, but you can take a little solace in knowing you had a chance
--
you know, if one play or another were different, then maybe the
outcome would have been reversed. Friday night, Lincoln's fifth loss
of the season (21-5) was without a doubt their most disappointing.
It was enough to cause a true rarity to occur. Midway through the
fourth quarter, a large number of Railers fans were making their way
to the door. Giving up too early?
Well, we've seen the spurts and runs this Railer squad can go on,
but on this night, there never was that feeling that it was coming.
In fact, Lincoln's only true run came down 8-4 when they scored
seven in a row to go up 11-8. Other than that, SHG controlled the
pace of the game from opening tip to final buzzer.
Earlier this season, the Railers seemed to go through a lack of
confidence. In January, there were two one-point losses around a big
win at Southeast as well as a four-point win over Kankakee that was
closer than it should have been. [to top of second column] |
There was Glenwood week, when the Railers never seemed
challenged other than that first half against Taylorville.
Things seemed to be turning back on course, especially with
another win over the Spartans and a big win over Lanphier.
Now,
having lost consecutive games, the Railers will try to find
whatever it is to get the ship headed back in the right
direction. There are some certainties: The Railers have at
least five games left and maybe as many as 11. Effort like
Friday night and we'll be a lot closer to seeing the seniors take off
those uniforms for the final time.
The Railers were led by Smith's 24, just two off his career
high. Nelson finished with 19, while Kirby scored three. Gesner,
Coyne and Van Hook each added two.
The Railers are back in
action on Saturday, taking on Decatur Eisenhower. The Railers
beat the Panthers 42-32 on the first day of the Collinsville
Holiday Tournament. Tip time for the varsity is scheduled for
7:30.
Other conference scores from Friday:
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Lanphier 71, Glenwood 59
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Springfield 57, Jacksonville 45
-
Rochester 53, Taylorville 38
___
LINCOLN (52)
Nelson 8-16 2-4 19, Smith 9-13 4-4 24, Kirby 1-6 0-0 3, Gesner
1-3 0-0 2, Coyne 1-2 0-0 2, Van Hook 1-3 0-0 2, Olson 0-0 0-0 0,
Podbelsek 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Hays 0-0 0-0 0, Krusz 0-0
0-0 0. Team 21-43 6-8 52.
3-point field goals 4-18 (Smith 2-4,
Nelson 1-5, Kirby 1-6, Gesner 0-1, Coyne 0-1, Van Hook 0-1).
Rebounds 17 (Smith 6), assists 11 (Smith 4), steals 10 (Nelson
5), turnovers 9.
SHG (65)
Sergent 20, Williams 14, Sestak 9, Holmes 9, Eagleton 7, Bland
4, Boggs 2. Team 26-45 3-3 65.
3-point field goals 10-21 (Sergent
6, Holmes 3, Eagleton).
Rebounds 26, assists 15, steals 7,
turnovers 12.
Score by quarters: End of first quarter
-- LCHS 13, SHG 10
Halftime -- LCHS 29, SHG 28
End of third quarter -- SHG 45, LCHS 44
___
IHSA pairing information
-
Game 1, Monday,
Feb. 28 -- No. 4 Morton vs. No. 5 Springfield
-
Game 2, Tuesday,
March 1 -- No. 1 Lincoln vs. winner of Game 1
-
Game 3, Wednesday,
March 2 -- No. 2 Lanphier vs. No. 3 SHG
-
Game 4, Friday, March 4 -- Winner of Game 2 vs.
winner of Game 3
(championship)
All games at Roy S. Anderson begin at 7:30, and season passes cannot be used for admission to the
regional games.
[By JEFF BENJAMIN]
Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles
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