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 Jacksonville’s James White scored eight of his game-high 23 points
in overtime to send the Railers to their seventh defeat in eight
games. His play was not a surprise to the coaching staff. “We had
their one shooter (White) identified,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander
said. “We had their offense figured out and we knew what we had to
do to stop it, at least in chalk. Our execution was not good.” White
finished hitting seven threes, most of them at critical junctures in
the game. His first three in the overtime gave the Crimsons a lead
the Railers would not be able to take back.
“I thought the guys fought hard. I just wish we had played as hard
in the first 12 minutes as we did the rest of the game,” Alexander
said. “Had we done that, we could have won.” The Railers did get a
big boost off the bench from sophomore Ben Grunder, who finished
with six points but was more impressive on the defensive end. “I
thought Ben played a great game. He was physical and aggressive to
the ball,” Alexander commented. “That’s what we need, people going
to the ball, not just waiting and watching.”
Lincoln’s leading scorer on the night, Bryson Kirby, got the Railers
off early with the first of his five threes. After the Crimsons took
a 5-3 lead, KJ Fry hit from long range to put Lincoln back up 6-5.
From there, it just got rough, at least for the Railers. If it
wasn’t White hitting another three, it was the inside play of
Brandon McCombs or Tyler Rose for Jacksonville. Both big men for the
Crimsons found themselves open behind the Lincoln defense and their
teammates found them. When Jacksonville was missing, they and Riley
Dugan were plucking one of eight offensive rebounds to keep all the
pressure on the Railers.
By the time White hit a three to start the second quarter,
Jacksonville (12-6, 7-3) was already out to a 16-6 lead. Aron Hopp
stopped the run with a 15-footer, but that only allowed the Crimsons
to score the next seven to explode out to a 23-7 lead. A floater
from Isaiah Bowers pulled Lincoln within 13 but again, it was
another run just like the rest. Eventually the scoreboard at the
historic Bowl in Jacksonville saw Lincoln down 31-12, the product of
a 26-6 overall run.
Lincoln did what they could to stay close, hoping to get within ten
by halftime to give themselves a chance in the second. That chance
came thanks to the three point shooting of Bowers, who hit two in a
row to cut the margin to 31-18. But, again, it was White, who found
one way after another to put a halt to any momentum Lincoln would
try to muster. Down 34-18, Kirby sent the Railers (10-9, 4-6) into
the break three points closer when he hit from downtown just before
the first half buzzer sounded.
Ok, so stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Lincoln gets back
into a game three points at a time. Once Bowers dropped a floater
over the outstretched arms of the Jacksonville defense to start the
half, each time Lincoln scored in the quarter, they would do so,
adding three at a time.
A three from Fry pulled Lincoln within eight at 34-26. After a
Crimson score, Grunder hit the first of his two threes, shaking off
any nerves he may have had, during his first extended varsity action
of the season. Down seven, the Crimsons hit a three to go back up
39-29. The hot hand for the night, Kirby, tried to bring the Railers
closer, but was fouled on a three pointer. The junior hit all three,
continuing a run of great free throw shooting by the Railers. Over
the previous six games, the Railers had hit 87 percent of their free
throws. After a free throw from McCombs, Hopp found an opening but
elected to kick it out to an open Grunder, who connected again to
pull Lincoln with five at 40-35.
A three pointer from Jacksonville was answered by Garrett Aeilts.
The senior, who missed Tuesday night’s game with a facial injury
that could have been serious enough to end his season, did not start
but provided points off the bench. His three brought the deficit
back to five at 43-38 as the teams headed for the fourth quarter.
It didn’t take long for Lincoln to dent the scoreboard in the final
quarter of regulation as Isaiah Bowers was the recipient of an
intentional foul as he headed in for an easy layup less than a
minute into the period. Bowers split the free throws to bring the
game to 43-39. Some may say a little home-cooking helped
Jacksonville. As Bowers had the ball in hand to shoot the second
free throw, the buzzer sounded from the scorer’s table for no
apparent reason. After Bowers got the ball back, he had lost his
rhythm and missed the second shot.
[to top of second column] |
Hopp pulled Lincoln closer on the ensuing possession with a
17-footer and for the first time in a long time, it was back to a
one score game. With Jacksonville still looking for their first
points of the quarter and 3:42 on the clock, Kirby stepped way
behind the top of the key and drained a three to put the Railers
back on top 44-43. After the Railers had fought all the way back to
take the lead, it took a while before the Crimsons were able to even
the contest. The first points of the quarter came with about a
minute and a half left when McCombs hit one of two free throws to
knot the contest at 44. With a minute to go, it was than man White
again, who hit another three to put the hosts up 47-44. Down three,
and instead of going for the tie, it was Hopp driving to the basket
where he was fouled with 42 seconds left. After he hit both, the
Lincoln full court pressure forced a Jacksonville turnover.
With the ball and down one, the Railers went to their leading scorer
who was fouled. Hopp ran his free throw streak to 20 in a row and
put Lincoln up 48-47 with 15 seconds remaining. After a series of
timeouts, a play was run inside for McCombs who missed the shot, but
was fouled. McCombs had struggled at the line and was only able to
hit one shot to tie the game at 48. Now, with less than ten seconds
in regulation, the Railers tried to run a play for Hopp, but the
ball was kicked out of bound with 3.2 seconds left. Trying one more
time, Hopp got the inbounds pass, but his 15 footer missed the mark
and the game headed to overtime.
The extra four minutes could not have started better for Lincoln as
Jacksonville won the tip, but Bowers stepped in the path and
streaked down court for an easy layup to give the Railers a quick
two point lead. However, it was again too much James White. The
junior hit two threes and then watched as Joe Brannan dropped
through a pair free throws with 1:32 left to give the Crimsons a
56-50 lead. Kirby tried to keep Lincoln close with his fourth three
on the evening, but it was free throws again, from White and
Brannan, that pushed the lead back to seven at 60-53.
Lincoln refused to go away when Aeilts hit from behind the arc with
29 seconds left, then watched McCombs miss both free throws. The
Railers pulled back within one when Kirby hit number five with 11
seconds to go. It was Riley Dugan’s turn at the stripe and he
converted both to push the lead back to three, but keep it a one
possession game. Down three and seven seconds left, the Railers
inbounded the ball to Hopp, who worked the ball toward the left
sideline. Coach Sean Taylor chose to foul Hopp and not let him fire
off a three, or find an open teammate for the tie. To give Lincoln
any chance, Hopp needed to make both. Unfortunately, with 4.3
seconds to go, his streak of 20 in a row ended as he missed the
front end of the one and bonus. McCombs grabbed the rebound and was
fouled with three seconds left. It was no certainty he would salt
the game away based on his previous trips to the line. But with all
his struggles, and only needing one, McCombs sank the first one and
that was enough as Jacksonville sneaks away with a 63-59 win.
Kirby led the way with a career high 18 points and Bowers adding 15.
Hopp scored eight with Aeilts, Fry, and Grunder each chipping in
with six.
Another ‘had a chance,’ but another ‘got to find a way to win
these.’ Maybe a new rotation has been discovered with some players
about to get more playing time, while others may wonder about missed
opportunities. Whatever the case, it won’t take long to see the next
chapter as the Railers take to the court on Saturday night against
Eisenhower on the final day of the Central State Eight Non-City
Tournament. Game time is set for 5:00pm at MacArthur High School in
Decatur. If you weren’t there last week, the address of the school
is 1400 W. Grand Avenue. The sophomore will be playing in the extra
gym with their game starting at 3:30.
LINCOLN (59)
Kirby 5 3-3 18, Bowers 6 1-2 15, Hopp 4-5 8, Aeilts 2 0-0 6, Fry 2
0-0 6, Grunder 2 0-0 6, Biggs 0 0-0 0, O’Donoghue 0 0-0 0, Hullinger
0 0-0 0. TEAM 19 8-12 59. 3pt FG 13 (Kirby 5, Aeilts 2, Fry 2,
Bowers 2, Grunder 2).
JACKSONVILLE (63)
White 23, Dugan 12, Rose 10, McCombs 9, Brannan 7, Albers 2. TEAM 20
14-23 63. 3pt FG 9 (White 7, Dugan, Brannan).
LCHS 6-15-17-10-11 59
J’VILLE 13-11-9-5-15 63
[Jeff Benjamin] |
