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 As they did the previous season, the Lincoln Railers swept
through the 2014 version of the holiday tournament in Collinsville,
winning the nightcap on Tuesday over the host school 47-34 to
capture the school’s sixth title at the Classic. The six
championships are the most won by any school in the tournament’s
history. Lincoln leading scorer Gavin Block became only the third
Railer to ever be named as the MVP and was joined on the all-tourney
team by fellow senior Will Cook.
But, when it comes to teams, Lincoln truly was the all-tournament
team.
“I’m really proud of these guys for how they performed this week,”
Lincoln Coach Neil Alexander said. “Each guy did his part, gained
confidence, and it really showed through the week. Our defense, I
thought, was the key. We held some good teams to some low scores.”
Offensively, it helped to have tournament MVP Gavin Block, who
averaged over 21 points per game during the four games and played
some of his best basketball that Railer Nation has seen out of the
Ohio University recruit.
However, the championship game did not get off to the start the
Railers had gotten used to. Collinsville (6-7), a team that upset
Belleville Althoff in the day’s second semifinal, came out looking
more like Lincoln than Lincoln. Hitting threes, forcing turnovers, a
game plan the Kahoks used to build an early 4-0. Lincoln quickly
came back on an alley-oop lob to Block and a three pointer from the
senior. But the Kahoks used a 12-3 run to build a 16-8 advantage
near the end of the first quarter and, for the first time during the
tournament, the Railers were not the team playing the best
basketball on the court. Block hit three free throws but that was
quickly answered by Collinsville’s Nick Gonet whose three gave
Collinsville a 19-11 lead at the end of one.
 Will Cook, who had been held scoreless so far in the game, stepped
up. It is possible the game turned on a single offensive rebound.
After a Railer miss, the rebound was tracked down and found its way
to Cook. The Lincoln senior proceeded to hit three threes in a row
to kickstart a 16-0 run took Lincoln’s lead out to 27-11. It was not
until 1:33 left in the quarter that Collinsville scored their first
points of the quarter. But it was Cook’s shooting that turned things
around for the Railers.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a shooter like Will Cook,” Alexander
said after the game. “I mean if he misses a shot, it doesn’t bother
him and if he makes it, it doesn’t affect him. He just feels each
time the next one is going to go in.”
Lincoln was looking good with an eight point lead as halftime
approached but Brett Langley hit a three as time was running down to
pull the Kahoks to within five at 29-24. Collinsville was staying in
the game, shooting 69 percent in the first half, including 4 of 7
from three point range. Lincoln wasn’t far behind, connecting on 63
percent and half of their 12 attempts from behind the three point
line.
After Jordan Perry hit a big three to start the second half, the
game swayed back and forth with Collinsville closing to within six
at 35-29 on a tip dunk by Emondre Rickman. Block scored the next
five, culminating with a three at the buzzer that had him pumped,
the Railer Nation on its feet, and his team just eight minutes from
a championship with a 40-29 lead.
 Block started the fourth as he ended the third, hitting another
three, his 14th of the tournament, as Lincoln enjoyed their largest
lead of the night at 43-29. The Kahoks made one final push, cutting
the lead under double digits at 43-34, but the three with 4:06 to go
would be their last. Not the best formula for making a comeback,
especially against this Lincoln team. The Railers closed it out at
the free throw line and as the final seconds ticked off, it was
obvious this team had taken a big step towards whatever goals they
may have.
The Railers had two in double figures with Block scoring 27 and Cook
adding 11, all in the second quarter, just when Lincoln needed them
most. Perry had two big threes for six points, Isaiah Bowers added a
basket late, while Aron Hopp made one free throw.
The first game of the day saw Lincoln handle McCluer North 60-40.
Although the margin was 20, it was not as comfortable as you may
think. The Railers, due to foul trouble, were force to used
combinations not usually seen, but as we have grown accustomed,
Lincoln found a way.
[to top of second column] |
Things were looking good early at Vergil Fletcher Gymnasium as the
Railers built an early 8-2 lead, but that was put in check at the
5:07 mark of the first quarter when Will Cook picked up his second
foul and headed to the bench. Lincoln was able to sustain the lead
with Cook on the bench. Gavin Block completed an old-fashioned three
point play after an offensive rebound to give Lincoln a 16-4 lead.
Some of the most important play of the day may have come from junior
Garrett Aeilts, who, while filling in for Cook, drained a three
pointer to give Lincoln a 21-8 advantage.
Try as they might, the Stars tried to pull Lincoln into a fast-paced
game. However, the Railers were able to remain composed and
disciplined on both offense and defense. Block scored the first five
points of the second quarter and the Lincoln lead had grown to
28-10. After a couple of Aron Hopp baskets, including a reverse
layup through the wide open McCluer North (7-2) defense, things were
looking good in Railer Nation, up 32-15.
The preparation of the team was about to be tested at the 3:10 mark
when Block picked up his third foul, so for the rest of the half,
Lincoln would be without their top two scorers, on the bench with
foul issues. Panic, not the Railers, and certainly not their
coaching staff. “I pulled him (Payton Ebelherr) aside and told him
he had to be the big man out there,” Alexander explained. Thanks to
another three from Aeilts and free throws from Hopp, the Railers’
lead actually grew with Cook and Block on the bench, up 37-17 late
in the half.
Ebelherr scored his five point early in the half as the margin moved
to 23 at 45-22. The final run from the Stars was just a 9-2 spurt
drawing them to 49-34, but a floater in the lane and another three
pointer from Block sealed the fate of McCluer North. Lincoln ran
their offense as advertised and it completely demoralized the Stars.
A possession in the fourth typified their efforts when the Railers
ran close to 1:30 off the clock making passes and cutting, finding
the open man, you know, if you’ve seen this team, what the ball
movement looks like. All that effort resulted in an easy layup for
Isaiah Bowers to give Lincoln the 56-37 lead and it just a matter of
waiting for the final buzzer to sound.
Even in a 20 point win, Coach Alexander found a troublesome area,
something that could prove an issue in a close game. “We have got to
make layups, we missed some easy ones today,” Alexander said. “They
don’t understand why I get upset at missed layups, but today you saw
two missed layups on our end resulted in two fouls, one on Cook and
the other on Gavin, fouls that shouldn’t have happened if we make
layups.”
Block and Hopp were the Railers in double figures in game one, with
20 and 14 points respectively. Cook and Aeilts each added six, with
Ebelherr adding five, Bowers chipping in with four, Jordan Perry
hitting a three, and David Biggs with a layup at the end.
So the Railers now stand at 11-2, champions of both tournaments they
have played in. There is no time to rest on their laurels as the
2015 portion of the season starts on Saturday as Lincoln travels to
Normal West for a 6:30 varsity start with the sophomores scheduled
to tip at 5:00pm. If you have not seen this team, it would be a good
chance to see what you have been missing. If you have watched this
team, but missed them at Collinsville, Saturday would be a good
chance to see how this team has improved. If the improvement
continues, there is no telling how high the ceiling is for this
team.
Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2015.
For something different from the usual scoring recap, below are
links to the box scores from Tuesday’s games:
Lincoln vs. McCluer North
https://sites.google.com/a/cusd.kahoks.org/collinsville-holiday-classic/2014/game-23
Lincoln vs. Collinsville
https://sites.google.com/a/cusd.kahoks.org/collinsville-holiday-classic/2014/game-29
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