All is AOK for Railers at SHG    LINCOLN 58 SHG 40

[February 18, 2017]  SPRINGFIELD --  So, here is the plan. For the rest of the season, every day there is a game for the Railers, someone needs to be in charge of telling Lincoln junior Isaiah Bowers that the day is a Friday. Doesn’t matter what day it actually is, just let him know it’s Friday. Why you ask? Well, the past two Fridays have set well with Mr. Bowers. A career high 30 points last week in the upset of number one Lanphier and another 24 points last night as Lincoln handled SHG 58-40.

Three of Bowers’ 20-plus point performances this season have occurred on a Friday. At SHG, the Railers’ leading scorer was on point from the beginning. The aggressive play of Bowers and fellow junior Ben Grunder set the tone for the Railers who improved to 17-11 (11-5 in CS8) with the victory. “Isaiah has been in a slump lately,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said. “But he is too good to not come out of it and this is the best time of year for him to start showing what he can do.”

The Railers had the athletic advantage on Friday night and used that to build an early lead that the Cyclones would not be able to overcome. With SHG dedicating one person to be with Bryson Kirby all night, the SHG defense left themselves open to the Railers driving the lane. Grunder got the Railers on the board with a lay-in before Bowers sank a pair of free throws. The free throws may not seem like much but it marked the first time a Lincoln starter went to the line in three games. SHG scored to cut the lead in half before Grunder connected from 15 feet and was a toe away from hitting a three from the top of the key. Lincoln was up early 8-2 and the wide open lane was just what the Railers needed to penetrate the lane and find open players. After another score from the Cyclones, the Railers closed out the quarter on an 11-0 run.

Titus Cannon took advantage of the sagging Cyclones defense that was now trying to protect the lane. Cannon hit the first of his two threes on the night to start the run. A hard drive to the basket from Bowers and one from long range put the Railers up 17-4 and forced SHG coach Kyle Krager to take his second timeout of the quarter. Bowers rounded out the Lincoln scoring with another score down low. SHG was able to get the final basket of the quarter cutting the Lincoln lead to 13.

SHG (8-16, 3-13) was able to close the gap by scoring the first four of the second as the Lincoln lead was trimmed to nine. Grunder ended to spurt with another drive to the basket. “Ben had a good game and we are going to keep needed that from him,” Alexander said. Drew Bacon added to the scoring with a shot in close to push the Lincoln lead to 23-10. Another four in a row from the Cyclones cut the margin back to single digits. Another 8-0 run led by threes from Bowers and Cannon. Free throws from Bowers extended the lead to 31-14. SHG’s Matt Moseley hit a three to bring the halftime score to 31-17.

Turnovers were the biggest problem for SHG as they were battling to see if they would have more points or turnovers in the first half. “Our defense won this game tonight,” Alexander said. “We had a lot of great aggressive traps and forced a lot of turnovers.”

Grunder started the second half as he did the first before Kirby sank his only three of the night to give Lincoln a 36-17 lead. However, as Coach Alexander mentioned, the defense did have “a few breakdowns.” In the third quarter, those breakdowns generally resulted in scores from SHG’s Austin Chapman. The 6’3” senior scored six in a row, all from about three feet where he found holes in the Lincoln defense. With SHG down 36-23, Grunder came to the rescue again with a spin move and basket before Bowers connected for a long three before getting fouled. There were a number of fouls in the game along with others that were not called. “It was a physical game, very physical,” Alexander stated. “But this time of year, you have to get used to it because that’s how the games are going to be and you can’t back down.”

Chapman had scored all the SHG points in the third (8) and the first basket in the fourth. But, all the physical play caught up the SHG with 6:26 to go in the game when Chapman fouled out and Lincoln up 45-27. Drew Bacon had a nice tip-in as he ran a wide open lane and tipped in a Cannon miss with his left hand. Bowers rounded out his great night with another three, putting Lincoln up 52-31. For much of the second half, Lincoln was in control. A few hiccups, but never really challenged. The Cyclones got no closer than 13 and the win keeps up the Railers dominance when up at the half, now 15-1 with a lead at intermission.

The dynamic duo of Bowers and Grunder led with 24 and 16 points respectively. Cannon scored six with Kirby and Bacon adding four. Tate Sloan finished with two while Eddie Combs and Sam Birnbaum added a late free throw each. The sophomores were just as dominant on Friday night as they came away with a 66-42 win.

The seeds and pairings for the state tournament were also released. The Railers were tabbed as the number four seed and were assigned to the Lanphier regional. Lincoln’s first game in regional play will be Wednesday, March 1 against Jacksonville. A victory would advance them to the regional final that Friday, most likely against a Lanphier team that would be drooling for payback from last week’s upset.

But, first things first.

The Railers will enjoy a Saturday off while preparing for the final week of the regular season. The final two games of the season are at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium starting with Tuesday’s matchup with Glenwood. The last time the two teams got together, Glenwood needed overtime to defeat the Railers 26-22.

So, the next game is Tuesday. But, if you happen to see Isaiah that day, it would be OK with me if you let him know it’s “Friday.”

LINCOLN (58)

Bowers 6 8-10 24, Grunder 7 2-3 16, Cannon 2 0-0 6, Kirby 1 1-3 4, Bacon 2 0-0 4, Sloan 1 0-0 2, Combs 0 1-2 1, Birnbaum 0 1-2 1, Hullinger 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 0-0 0, Holliday 0 0-0 0, Dewberry 0 0-0 0. TEAM 19 13-20 58. 3pt FG 7 (Bowers 4, Cannon 2, Kirby).

SHG (40)

Chapman 14, Moseley 10, Reid 6, O’Connor 4, Lust 3, Hamilton 2, Redd 1. TEAM 16 5-8 40. 3pt FG 3 (Moseley 2, Lust).

LCHS 19-12-12-15 58
SHG 6-11-8-15 40