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 It only took 1:48 into the game before Quincy coach Andy Douglas
called a timeout to try and cool off the Railers after Will Cook and
Block hit Lincoln’s first three treys to take an early 9-0 lead. The
Blue Devils (7-4) finally got on the board with a three from Jacob
Jobe, their only scoring in the first eight minutes. Going one
better than their opening game run, Lincoln (9-2) used a 10-0 run to
get out to a 19-3 lead. Another three apiece for Cook and Block
supplemented the extraordinary passing that has become habit in
Collinsville over the years. Block scored on a back door off a
pinpoint bounce pass from Payton Ebelherr, while Aron Hopp was the
beneficiary of unselfish play from Cook after he stole the ball,
drove the court and kicked it back to a wide open Hopp trailing the
play. After Hopp’s basket, Lincoln’s 16 point advantage seemed to
take the heart out of their opponents.
 “We wanted to slow them down from what we saw on Saturday,” Lincoln
coach Neil Alexander said after the game. “Against Belleville
(East), they were taking the ball out of the basket and running the
court. There was concern over their sophomore (Parker Bland who
scored 21 in the first game). He runs the court well, but we were
able to slow them today.” Quincy’s Lincoln Elbe hit his only basket of the night to end the
run, but Lincoln went on another 8-0 spurt to build a 27-6 margin,
forcing Quincy to use another timeout at the 3:33 mark of the second
quarter. Freshman Isaiah Bowers got it going with an eight-foot
jumper from the baseline, while Block hit another three from the top
of the key and then made the extra pass to a wide open Ebelherr who
connected for his only three of the day.
Lincoln’s near perfect first half was punctuated with another
well-run possession that found Bowers on the baseline who hit the
shot as the buzzer sounded at Vergil Fletcher Gymnasium as the
Railers went into the locker room up 20 at 31-11. What built that
lead? Well, let’s see – 71 percent shooting including 78 percent
from behind the three point line, only turning the ball over one
time while scoring 13 points off Quincy turnovers. As far as first
halves go, it was a sweet sixteen minutes.
 So far this season, the Railers have struggled scoring in the third
quarter as it is their lowest scoring segment each game. Up 20,
there is always the possibility of backing down a bit and Quincy,
knowing they had to get back into the game quickly, scored the
half’s first four points to draw within 16 at 31-15. Along with his
scoring, Block also was finding the open teammate. The senior picked
one of his five assists on a nice back door pass to Hopp who set a
screen at the elbow and then cut to the hoop, wide open, as both
defenders stuck with Block. The next possession it was Block again,
this time firing a no look pass from the top of the key to a wide
open Hopp underneath to push the lead back to 20 at 38-18. The
basket also started yet another Railer Run, this time 9-0, to move
the score to 45-18. The final points of that drive came from Block,
who faked a three, then drove the lane and connected with a left
hand layup off the glass.
At times, the Lincoln defense appeared to have six or seven players
on the court. Quincy just could not find any offensive rhythm,
something that showed in their 26 percent shooting on the game. The
Railers were even on the boards with Quincy, a fact that brought a
smile to Coach Alexander. “Even at 20 on rebounds. We’ll take a tie
with our group.”
[to top of second column] |
Trying not to exaggerate, but Monday was a dominant performance by
the Railers. The contest was reminiscent of last year’s play at
Collinsville. Hopefully, the team got to enjoy their win. “We told
the team, enjoy this one for about 10 minutes, you earned it,”
Alexander said, “but there is a tough team waiting for us tomorrow
in McCluer North.”
I don’t know about you, but every time the Railers have been in
tournament play lately, the level of their play has elevated. It is
something that does not happen by accident. “This kind of play is
exactly what you find in the state tournament,” Alexander explained.
“We told them they got lucky at winning our tournament after
stubbing their toe. In a tournament like this, there is no break for
doing that. Bracketed tournaments, you win and move on, just like in
the postseason and we want them ready for that.”
After having recent games with multiple players in double figures,
only Block reached that on Monday with 21. Hopp finished with 9,
while Cook added 8. Ebelherr scored five and led the team with six
assists. Bowers chipped in with four while David Biggs scored
Lincoln’s final two points of the game.
So far, the first two days, my favorite stat has to be that on
Lincoln’s 42 field goals, the Railers have been credited with 36
assists. We’ll see if that continues on Tuesday. If it does, it
could be a late, but successful night for Railer Nation.
Lincoln’s next action will be Tuesday afternoon in a 1:00 matchup
against McCluer North, the tournament’s number three seed that had
to come from down as much as ten to knock off East St. Louis 65-61.
The Railers faced the Stars last year at handled them with a 71-40
win on the second day of the tournament, a fact that makes you
believe McCluer North will have payback on their mind in the
semifinal. If the Railers win, they will play in the championship
game on Tuesday night at 8:00pm, while a loss would put them in the
third place game scheduled for 6:30pm. The other semifinal matchup
has the top seed, Belleville Althoff, squaring off against host
Collinsville.
LINCOLN (49)
Block 8-10 0-0 21, Hopp 4-4 1-2 9, Cook 3-5 0-0 8, Ebelherr 2-3 0-0
5, Bowers 2-5 0-0 4, Biggs 1-1 0-0 2, Perry 0-2 0-0 0, Aeilts 0-1
0-0 0, Fry 0-1 0-0 0, Hullinger 0-0 0-0 0, Kirby 0-1 0-0 0. TEAM
20-33 1-2 49. 3-point FG 8-16 (Block 5-5, Cook 2-4, Ebelherr 1-1,
Aeilts 0-1, Kirby 0-1, Perry 0-2, Bowers 0-2). Rebounds 20, Assists
16, Turnovers 7.
QUINCY (27)
Cam. Gay 6, Jobe 6, Tenhouse 4, Bland 4, Elbe 3, Dade 2, Car. Gay 2.
TEAM 9-35 4-4 27. 3-point FG 5-18 (Cam. Gay 2, Jobe 2, Elbe).
Rebounds 20, Assists 6, Turnovers 9.
LINCOLN 17-14-12-6 49
QUINCY 3-8-7-9 27
[Jeff Benjamin]
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