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On an emot ional Senior Night, the Railers were primed and ready,
hoping to get off to a good start, something they have struggled
with recently. Well, if you're going to get off to a good start, do
so in a BIG way. Lincoln exploded out to a 16-0 lead and seemed in
control the rest of the way. Moline had difficulty getting into the
frontcourt, let alone getting a shot up.
Nelson got the Railers on the board early with a 3-pointer and
showed his emotion by pumping his fist while backpedaling on
defense. Coyne converted a basket on Lincoln's next possession, and
after a Jordan Gesner 3-pointer, Smith's shot from the lane had
all the seniors in the scorebook and Lincoln ahead 10-0. Although
Moline would get closer, the Railer lead was double digits the rest
of the way.
Smith had the biggest night for the seniors, finishing with a
double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, five of those on the
offensive end. He also continued to improve his free-throw shooting,
hitting all eight attempts, connecting now on 20 of his last 23 from
the free-throw line. Smith continues to make a push for 1,000 career
points, now just 44 points from that milestone.
Nelson was held to just 13 points, with all four of his field goals
from behind the arc. Even though Nelson will leave LCHS as the
school's all-time 3-point shooter and his final spot on the
all-time scoring list yet to be determined, he may get a look or two
from some wrestling scouts. Coming into the contest, Moline's game
plan was to play a box and one with the one being Nelson. From the
outset, it was obvious Moline's Kyle Lewis had been instructed to
not lose sight of Nelson. On one possession, Nelson was being
grabbed, pulled and almost tackled, all this directly in front of
an official on the sideline.
Despite the overly physical play being pointed out by Lincoln coach Neil
Alexander and the Railer bench, no whistles were blown. Nelson had
no choice but to try to get free and, in doing so, executed a
hybrid hip-toss tackle, tossing Lewis to the court, again with no
call being made. Later in the half, Nelson was whistled for a foul
against Lewis that caused Alexander to bring Nelson out of the game.
After the surge at the beginning of the game, and with Nelson and
Smith on the bench, Moline started cutting into Lincoln's lead.
Moline's leading scorer, Anthony Lindauer, who did not have a good
shooting night, converted a Railer turnover into a slam dunk. The
Railers returned the favor with a pass from Gesner to Christian Van
Hook, who caught with two hands but dunked with one, putting Lincoln
(24-5) up 23-10.
 Will Podbelsek had the only other field goal for the Railers in
the quarter, but Lincoln hit all but one of their eight second-quarter free throws to lead at
the half 28-17. Lincoln hit just 40
percent (8 of 20) in the first half, while Moline hit just over 25
percent, going 5 for 16.
A big night was also had by Coyne. Finishing just one point shy of
his career high, Coyne also finished with eight rebounds and four
assists. His activity on the boards did not always result in
rebounds for his stat line, but kept the ball alive, giving the
Railers second and third chances. Coyne's actions helped the
Railers win the rebound battle for the second night in a row, an
area the Railers have struggled with this season. The senior showed
a variety in his shots, connecting from 3-point range in the
early 16-0 run, hitting on jumpers from the free-throw line, as well as
being strong underneath and making good moves to get free for
lay-ins and jump hooks. With Nelson and Smith getting a lot of the
defensive attention, Coyne's play could have a big influence on how
far this team can go in the tournament.
With Lincoln up by 11 at the half, the seniors took over. All 30 points came
from the Smith, Coyne and Nelson trio. As Moline tried to get back
in using 3s, the success they had the night before against rival
United Township did not make the trip with them. Twenty-five
attempts from long range resulted in just three makes, including Lindauer, who felt the need to keep backing up for his tries,
including one from the "N" on the Lincoln logo just inside half-court.
The leading scorer for Moline (17-11) was just 1 of 15 from 3-point range on the night.
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The second half was back and forth with Moline closing to as
close as 11 at 34-23, but it was too much of the seniors. Up
49-37, two baskets from Smith and one from Coyne put the game
out of reach. After a Moline score, it was appropriate that
Nelson, who scored Lincoln's first 3 of the night, connected
on the Railers' final score of the night to give Lincoln the 16-point win.
The Railers were able to get the win without one of their
starters. Junior Austin Kirby injured his foot in Friday night's
contest against Glenwood and was in warmups on the bench. His
availability for Friday's game at Lanphier will not be known
until later in the week.
As mentioned, it was the seniors leading the way. Smith scored
20 and grabbed 10 rebounds, Coyne scored 15 and added eight boards,
while Nelson contributed 13 points and three steals. Van Hook
scored four, while Gesner and Podbelsek each hit from long
range.
So, the Railers sweep a non-tournament weekend for the first
time since a December weekend over Jacksonville and Taylorville.
Next up is the final regular-season contest on Friday night at Lanphier. The Lions will be looking for revenge after the first
matchup, when Nelson's school-record 48 points led the Railers to
a 90-72 win at Lincoln. The contest is scheduled to tip at
around 7:30.
 ___
LINCOLN (58)
Smith 6-17 8-8 20, Coyne 7-9 0-0 15, Nelson 4-10 1-2 13, Van
Hook 1-2 2-2 4, Gesner 1-3 0-0 3, Podbelsek 1-1 0-0 3, Olson 0-2
0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Hays 0-0 0-0 0, Heidbreder 0-0 0-0 0,
Krusz 0-0 0-0 0, Bowlby 0-0 0-0 0. Team 20-44 11-12 58.
3-point
field goals 7-17 (Nelson 4-8, Podbelsek 1-1, Gesner 1-2, Coyne
1-2, Smith 0-2, Olson 0-2).
Rebounds 28 (Smith 10), assists 14
(Coyne, Olson 4), steals 11 (Nelson 3), turnovers 13.
Moline (42)
Atwater 12, Giovanine 8, Wages 7, Lindauer 7, James 5, Lewis 2,
Frost 1. Team 14-39 11-17 42.
3-point field goals 3-25 (Lindauer,
Giovanine, Wages).
Rebounds 27, assists 6, steals 6, turnovers
15.
Score by quarters:
End of first quarter -- LCHS 16, Moline 2
Halftime -- LCHS 28, Moline 17
End of third quarter -- LCHS 44, Moline 29
[By JEFF BENJAMIN]
Jeff Benjamin's Railer basketball articles
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