Wednesday, December 31, 2014
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Schnucks Classic
LINCOLN 49, QUINCY 27

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[December 31, 2014]  Lincoln senior Gavin Block scored a game-high 21 points, including hitting all five of his three point attempts, as the Railers used a blazing hot start to force Quincy into catch up mode from the opening tip as Lincoln advanced to the final four of the 2014 Schnucks Holiday Classic with a 49-27 drubbing of the Blue Devils. The win moves the Railers into a Tuesday afternoon semifinal matchup with McCluer North.

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.”

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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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