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 Nope.
On par with recent history, the two teams combined for just 67
points on the night with the Railers coming out on top 41-26 to pick
up their second win of the season and remain in contention for the
tournament title heading into the final day of the event. Sophomore
Isaiah Bowers led the way with 11 points, eight of those in the
first half as Lincoln built an eight point lead at the intermission.
This was not your classic defensive struggle although both teams
played well on defense. Each offense certainly aided making unforced
errors while taking questionable shots and missing the good ones.
Going into the game, Railer Nation was not sure what to make of this
young Railer team. In both previous games, the Railers had a lead
only to see their opponents come back to take the lead. On Monday,
Lincoln fought back to win, while Wednesday night Mahomet-Seymour
held off the comeback attempt.
On Friday night, the Railers jumped out to an 8-2 at the end of the
first quarter as Garrett Aeilts connected for the first of his three
from behind the arc to get the Lincoln scoring started. After
Morton’s lone bucket of the first quarter, Bowers hit a
three-pointer from the corner while Drew Bacon rounded out the
scoring with a strong move off the baseline for the lay-in. The lead
could have larger, but the Railers missed some easy shots and just
could not get their passes past the feet of the Potters.
Yes, feet. The Morton pressure used its hands and feet to create
diminished passing lanes and a number of the whistles in the first
half was due to Lincoln passes hitting Morton feet raised anywhere
from knee to waist level. “We are a short team and they are very
long with their arms,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander explained after
the game. “In the second half, we went away from our normal offense
to try to get someone in the middle. They were playing up next to
us, almost playing sideways.”
Bryson Kirby came off the bench to get Lincoln on the board in the
second quarter. His three pushed the Railer lead to 11-5. After
Morton’s Brennan Burns scored on the inside, their leading scorer
Ryan Altenberger hit a three to pull Morton to within one at 11-10.
The shot was the result of Lincoln having a chance to save a ball
before going out of bounds. The Railers did not, but Morton’s hustle
to save the ball resulted in the ball making it to Alternberger who
sank a three from near the top of the key. However, any momentum
Morton had by closing the game to one was lost in a hurry as the
Railers ran off seven in a row.
Nolan Hullinger continued his strong early season play with a
lay-in, followed by a long possession that resulted in a three from
Bowers. Lincoln ended the scoring with Bowers hit a pair of free
throws and the Railers took a 18-10 lead into halftime.
Bowers continued his own mini-run with a drive and score to start
the second half as the Lincoln lead drew to ten. To extend the lead
even further, Lincoln relied on threes from Aelits and Hullinger,
the latter being open when the Potter defense collapsed on a driving
Hopp to give Lincoln a lead of 26-14. With 2:53 left in the third,
there was a brief hold your breath moment when KJ Fry was involved
in a collision near half court and had to leave the game. It
appeared he got hit the face or heard. Fry was able to go to the
bench on his own and did eventually return to the game.
[to top of second column] |
A 6-0 run gave Lincoln a 32-17 lead and put the Railers on top by a
margin that would prove to be the margin for much of the rest of the
game. The last of those points coming on a back door pass from Kirby
to Hopp, his first points of the night. It also was the first of
seven points in a row from Hopp. There is certainly something to say
about a Railer team that waited until the fourth quarter for its
leading scorer to tally his first points yet up by 15 when he did.
Hopp scored on a drive and foul and then split four free throws to
put Lincoln up 37-22. The Railers final points from the field saw
Fry hit from the top of the key for his only three of the night.
Friday night’s tilt was not a classic in the ways to play the game.
Both teams struggled in many ways, but Lincoln came out on top.
Bowers led the way with 11, while Aeilts adding nine. Hopp scored
all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, with Hullinger
scoring five and Fry and Kirby each chipping in with a
three-pointer. The night’s final point was from David Biggs from the
free throw line.
The Lincoln win sets up a very interesting Saturday. Four teams,
including Lincoln, sit atop the standings at 2-1. Danville,
Mahomet-Seymour, and Champaign Centennial also walk into Roy S.
Anderson on Saturday with a chance to claim the championship by the
time the last person leaves the gym on Saturday night. Lincoln’s two
games on Saturday start at 11:30 against Danville, with the nightcap
scheduled for 8:00 against Danville. The rest of the Saturday
schedule looks like this:
10:00 Morton vs. Centennial, 11:30 Lincoln vs. Danville, 1:00
Mahomet-Seymour vs Cahokia.
5:00 Danville vs. Morton, 6:30 Centennial vs. Mahomet-Seymour vs.
Centennial, 8:00 Lincoln vs. Cahokia.
LINCOLN (41)
Bowers 3 3-4 11, Aeilts 3 0-0 9, Hopp 2 3-5 7, Hullinger 2 0-0 5,
Fry 1 0-0 3, Kirby 1 0-0 3, Bacon 1 0-0 2, Biggs 0 1-2 1, O’Donoghue
0 0-0 0. TEAM 13 7-11 41. 3pt FG 8 (Aeilts 3, Bowers 2, Fry,
Hullinger, Kirby).
MORTON (26)
Altenberger 2 0-0 6, Byrne 2 2-2 6, Olden 1 1-2 4, Anderson 1 0-0 3,
Kraft 1 1-2 3, Burns 1 0-0 2, Brekke 1 0-0 2. TEAM 9 4-6 26. 3pt FG
4 (Altenberger 2, Anderson, Olden) .
LCHS 8-10-12-11 41
MORTON 2-8-7-9 26
[Jeff Benjamin]
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