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 So Lincoln lost but won the tournament? Thanks to MacArthur’s
nine point win, the Railers, Generals, and Glenwood ended in a
three-way tie for first with 4-1 records in the week-long
tournament. The first tiebreaker is total free throw percentage
during the tournament which gave Lincoln the championship, but to
just about everyone involved, it didn’t feel like a championship
night.
“You got to feel for those guys,” Coach Neil Alexander said after
the game referring to MacArthur. “They just played their hearts out,
beat us, but we get the championship. I’m not sure. It seems there
should be a better way to decide it. Maybe you just declare the
teams tri-champions and leave it like that.”
As for the Railers, it was not a good night. Everything seemed out
of sync whether it was the offense not finding a rhythm, the defense
allowing too much dribble penetration, the inability to keep the
Generals off the boards, just about everything was not in the plus
column on Saturday night. There are not many times you see Lincoln
be the victim of a 29-13 run over the last quarter and a half.
Simply put, from tip to buzzer, MacArthur was the better team. If
you want an idea of how numbers can tell a story, look no further
than the rebounds where MacArthur almost double Lincoln on the
boards, outrebounding the Railers 35-18.
 The Generals’ Terry Bond scored seven of his game high 19 points in
a 9-1 run to start the fourth quarter that allowed the quests to
take the lead for good. The last time MacArthur visited Roy S.
Anderson, they forced the Railers into overtime before falling in
last season’s regional championship. On this night, they wanted to
make sure the outcome was different.
Decatur’s Keymonta Johnson started the scoring by scoring on an
offensive rebound. It was a sight that was prevalent throughout the
night as the Generals were many times presented with multiple
opportunities on missed shots. Lincoln’s Will Cook, who has
struggled from the floor the past six games, hit a three pointer to
get the Railers on the board. Jordan Perry hit a three to give the
Railers the lead at 6-3. Bond, who scored all of his points in the
first and fourth quarter scored five straight to give the advantage
back to MacArthur at 8-6. Lincoln took the lead back on an inside
score from Gavin Block and an 18 footer from Isaiah Bowers. More
damage was done from the outside as Bond and Dallas McClain hit
threes to give Decatur the 14-10 lead.
Lincoln tried to draw closer as the quarter came to an end, but
Cook’s three was blocked and the Railers trailed after one. The
Generals (15-5, 9-2) stretched the lead to six with a quick score
from Kamari Jones. The Railers were able to take the lead with one
of the quietest 9-0 runs in recent games. Block started with a three
pointer and scored again down low off a nice pass from Bowers. Block
and Aron Hoppe pushed the lead to 19-10 with both hitting a pair of
free throws. Again, a 9-0 run, but there seemed no enthusiasm in
getting there.
 The lead didn’t last long as McClain drained the first of his three
threes to tie the game at 19, the score each team took to the locker
room. It was the first time all season the Railers were even at the
half.
Both teams traded the lead in the early portion of the third
quarter. Hopp put Lincoln up 21-19 down low on an assist from Payton
Ebelherr only to have Jones answer back with a three to swing the
lead back to Decatur. Block, who finished with a team high 15
points, drove down the lane to take back the lead, but two free
throws from Johnson gave the Generals a 24-23 lead.
Senior Will Cook stepped up to hit two threes, one from each side
near the top of the key to put the Railers up 29-24 and when Block
jumper from 17 feet went down, there was a sense that Lincoln would
be able to sustain to momentum and build on the 31-24 lead. But it
was McClain again who connected from long range to start the
MacArthur comeback. After a free throw from Block, all things turned
to Decatur.
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A hook shot by McClain and a bucket from Bond cut the Lincoln
lead to one at 33-32. Ebelherr split a pair of free throws, but it
was Bond and McClain that continued to hurt the Railers. Bond tied
the game at 34, then a basket from McClain and another three from
Bond had Decatur up 39-34. There was certainly a sense of “what was
happening?” Cook brought Lincoln (17-4, 8-3) close with his fourth
three of the evening but inside baskets from Jones and Johnson
pushed the margin back six at 43-37. Hopp, who scored Lincoln’s
final seven points, scored on a lay-in but again it was Bond and
McClain scoring four in a row to get the lead to eight for the
Generals. Down 47-41, after a scramble for the ball, Hopp grabbed
the loose ball, laid it high off the glass and was fouled as the
basket went down. With 59 seconds to go, Hopp’s free throw cut the
lead to three. From there it was all good for MacArthur and nothing
went right for Lincoln. After Lincoln’s final attempt went off to
the side, it was Bond who provided the fitting finish for Decatur by
throwing down a dunk and the Generals and their fans were able to
celebrate the win.
Was it fatigue by playing 5 games in the past 8 days? Well, each
team had to do that. MacArthur used their quickness and had a bit
more want-to on the night, a fact that was proved out on the
scoreboard.
Block led the way with 15 points, but was held scoreless in the
fourth quarter. Cook added 12 points, while Hopp scored 11. Perry
chipped in with three, Bowers had two, while Ebelherr scored on a
free throw. At the end of the night, Hopp was named to the
all-tournament team while Block was named the tournament’s Most
Outstanding Player, an award he also won back in 2013. He is the
third player to win a pair of MOP awards (Jordan Nelson and
Glenwood’s Peyton Allen).
 So, the loss drops Lincoln behind MacArthur in the conference, ends
their winning streak in the tournament, and puts them in a near
must-win scenario in a couple of weeks when they travel to Decatur.
If Lincoln drops the contest to the Generals, you are probably
looking at the Railers falling out of a chance to pick up the one
seed in the regional. The Railers finally get a chance to rest as they are not in action
again until Friday night when they travel to Willard Duey Gymnasium
to face off with Springfield. Varsity tip time is scheduled for 7:30
with the sophomore starting the night at 6:00pm.
LINCOLN (44)
Block 6-15 2-3 15, Cook 4-10 0-0 12, Hopp 4-8 3-3 11, Perry 1-2 0-0
3, Bowers 1-2 0-0 2, Ebelherr 0-2 1-2 1, Aeilts 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM
16-30 6-8 44. 3pt FG 6-16 (Cook 4-8, Perry 1-2, Block 1-5, Ebelherr
0-1). Rebounds 18, Assists 9, Turnovers 12.
MACARTHUR (53)
Bond 19, McClain 15, Jones 9, Johnson 7, Spates 3. TEAM 20-42 6-12
53. 3ptFG 7-13 (Bond 3, McClain 3, Jones). Rebounds 35, Assists 12,
Turnovers 14.
LCHS 10-9-14-11 44
D MAC 14-5-11-23 53 [Jeff Benjamin]
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