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 In the two previous opportunities at the milestone, the Railers fell
short by a combined three points to Normal West and Springfield
Lanphier. Friday night, the third time was the charm as the Railers
survived a second half surge to hold off Eisenhower. The Panthers’
second half performance might have been enough to knock off Lincoln
if it were not for the showing put forth by Aron Hopp. The senior
scored 19 of game high 21 points in the second half, including
hitting his last nine free throws to help seal the win.
“Well, he had a good second half, but not a good first half,” Coach
Alexander said of Hopp.” Part of that was because he was over there
sitting next to me.” Hopp had picked up two early fouls in the first
quarter. With their leading scorer on the bench, Lincoln struggled
to find a crisp offensive rhythm while Eisenhower was pounding the
ball inside and capitalizing on offensive rebounding to build an
11-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Throwing caution to the wind, Alexander reinserted Hopp into the
lineup to start the second quarter and it paid immediate dividends
as Hopp was able to distribute the ball to teammates to help get the
Railers (15-12, 8-8) back in the contest and do so in a big way.
After Ben Grunder scored early in the second, Eisenhower’s Emmitt
Hale answered to put the Panthers up 13-8. From there, the second
quarter belonged to an inspired Railer squad. Senior KJ Fry
connected for three straight three pointers, one thanks in large
part to the hustle of Isaiah Bowers in corralling an offensive
rebound to maintain the possession. Once Eisenhower found Fry, that
left Bryson Kirby open to hit a three and as quick as you could
blink, Lincoln had moved out to a 20-13 lead.
The run was not over as Hopp found Fry for a two point score while
Bowers ended the half with a strong drive and Lincoln had turned
their five point deficit into an 11 point lead at the half, up
24-13. The run stretched into the second half when Garrett Aeilts
made a great pass to Hopp who scored but did not convert the three
point play. In total, an 18-0 run had put Lincoln up 26-13 and
things were looking good for 600.
Or so we thought. Whatever fountain the Railers drank from in the
second quarter must have been visited by Eisenhower in the third.
Down 13 to the Railers, the Panthers stormed back. With Lincoln
committing various turnovers and missing some shots, by the time
Coach Alexander took a timeout with 3:54 to go in the quarter,
Eisenhower had fought back to within one at 26-25. On the next
Panther possession, Emmitt Hale split a pair of free throws to tie
the game at 25.
Grunder put Lincoln back in front with two of his season high 10
points. After Eisenhower (8-18, 2-14) knotted the game, Hopp’s two
free throws gave the Railers a slim cushion going to the fourth at
30-28.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth fight where the Railers
again started to find offensive success, but the other end of the
court proved troublesome. “I’m really frustrated with our defense
right now,” Alexander said. Each time the Railers would score, they
failed to prevent Eisenhower from answering. Hopp led off the fourth
with a basket only to see Julian Jones hit a three to pull the game
to a one point margin. Hopp again moved the spread to three with
another driving score.
Again within one, Bowers could only put Lincoln up by two after
splitting free throws. It was the first night in a long time the
Railers were not automatic from the line as they converted just 13
of their 21 attempts. Free throws tied the game for Eisenhower, but
it was free throws by Hopp that gave the lead back to Lincoln. The
Panthers clawed all the way back when K.T. Graves hit a three
pointer and the home team had grabbed a 38-37 lead. Another basket
from Hopp gave the advantage back to Lincoln only to see Eisenhower
swing back in front. A three point play from Hopp put the Railers on
top 42-40, but another three from Jones gave the lead to Eisenhower
43-42.
The biggest play down the stretch came next as the Railers ran their
offense until Bowers took the dribble from outside the arc and down
the lane towards the baseline. As the Eisenhower defenders collapsed
on the sophomore, Bowers made a perfect pass to Fry set up in the
corner who drained the wide open three to put Lincoln up 45-43.
Outside of the four consecutive threes during the second quarter
run, it was the only other three Lincoln would make on the night.
Another score from Grunder extended the lead to 47-43, but
Eisenhower continued to score and score quickly as two straight
trips saw them tie the game at 47. A score from Bowers put the
Railers in the lead at 49-47 only to have Eisenhower tie the game
again at 49.
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From there, the Railers had to win it at the free throw line. A pair
from Hopp gave Lincoln a 51-49 lead, with Bowers making one more
with 36 seconds remaining. Lincoln did not have one of their best
rebounding nights of the season, but in the final minute, they got
every big rebound as Eisenhower could not find the bottom of the
basket. Hopp stepped back to the line to hit two more with 17
seconds to go. With the Railers up 54-49, Eisenhower’s final chance
slipped away as Bowers was fouled grabbing a rebound.
Again, not a pretty win, but win enough to get back to .500 in the
conference with two games in CS8 play left. The win also gives them
a chance for a winning week with one more game left on Saturday.
The Railers were led by three players in double figures with Hopp
scoring 21, Fry finished with 14, and Grunder hit double figures for
the first time with 10. Bowers added six, with Kirby chipping in
with three.
But back to 600. Another milestone win in the career of the Hall of
Fame coach. I believe the numbers mean something to him, but maybe
not what you think. I don’t think he views them as just straight
numbers. I think he see them as the collection of players, coaches,
fans, and others that have made them possible. Of course, a coach
needs players to win and he has had a number of them pass through
the halls at LCHS. But, there was one person he singled out in his
gratitude.
“I couldn’t do this without Denise (his wife). You really have to
have the support of someone that lets you do what you love to do,”
Alexander said. “I’ve been doing this for 41 years and she’s been
there for that. She was there with me at other places, at Monmouth.
She was there in high school. Of course, it’s in her blood too.”
“I’ve been fortunate to have some good coaches work with me. In
fact, this current group, I think has been together 7 or 8 years and
that really helps. Of course, the parents help as well by
understanding what is necessary. Winning isn’t easy. Winning is
hard.”
I’ve been privileged enough to watch Coach Al do what he loves to do
for 15 years. This is not a milestone that he has just fallen into.
He has worked hard and deserves it. Congratulations Coach Al. I know
Railer Nation recognizes how lucky we are to have patrolling the
sidelines at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium.
The next Railer contest is Saturday and it is the long trip of the
season as they travel to Joliet Central to take on the Steelmen. The
freshman will start things at 4, with the sophomores at 5:30, and
the varsity set for 7:00. Of course, if you are not able to make the
trip, you can hear the broadcast on 96.3 FM and streaming on
wlcnonline.com.
Congratulations also go out to the Lady Railers who picked up their
20th win of the season on the way to capturing the Decatur Regional
championship with a 68-49 victory over Mahomet-Seymour. Coach
Richmond’s squad will next be in action on Monday night at Clinton
High School as they take on Rochester at 7:30pm. Let’s see if Railer
Nation can turn out in droves to support the Lady Railers.
LINCOLN (54)
Hopp 6 9-10 21, Fry 5 0-0 14, Grunder 4 2-3 10, Bowers 2 2-8 6,
Kirby 1 0-0 3, Aeilts 0 0-0 0, Biggs 0 0-0 0. TEAM 18 13-21 54. 3pt
FG 5 (Fry 4, Kirby).
EISENHOWER (49)
Jones 9, Hale 9, Graves 8, Jarrett 6, Bobbitt 6, Young 6, Davis 5.
TEAM 19 6-12 49. 3pt FG 5 (Jones 3, Graves 2).
LCHS 6-18-6-24 54
EISENHOWER 11-2-15-21 49
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