LDN - Sports

Railers start 2017 with better effort but fall to undefeated Lanphier
LANPHIER 57, LINCOLN 41

[January 04, 2017] Tuesday night’s contest at Springfield’s Lober-Nika Gymnasium may have been the classic ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire’ scenario for the Lincoln Railers. Fresh off losing their final three games at Collinsville before 2016 ended, the 2017 portion of the schedule started on the road at undefeated Springfield Lanphier, a Lions team that won the championship game at the Pekin Holiday Tournament by 45 over Normal West.

Although there was a better effort on the floor, the scoreboard showed the same as the Railers’ skid reached four games after a 57-41 loss to Lanphier. The defeat was the first in conference this season while the overall record dropped to 9-5.

Coming into the game, the Lions had outscored their opponents 201-93 in the first quarter so the key for the Railers to hang in the contest was play the home squad tight over the first eight minutes. Early on, baskets from Isaiah Bowers, first on a back door pass from Titus Cannon and then an inbounds lob from Bryson Kirby gave Lincoln leads of 2-0 and 4-3. However, one of the trademark weapons for Lanphier is a quick strike offense predicated on pressure defense and turnovers. A 12-0 run led by Yakeema Rose and Aundrae Williams ballooned the Lincoln deficit to 15-4 about as quick as you could say Happy New Year. For the game, the Lions forced the Railers into 14 turnovers, scoring 18 points off those miscues.

Lincoln (9-5, 4-1) was able to end the run on a basket from Bowers, who scored all six of the Railers’ first quarter points on his way to a game high 18 points. A score from Drew Bacon started the Railers’ offense in the second quarter. After an answer from William Boles, the Railers decided to turn the tables on Lanphier. The Lions were not the only team turning mistakes into points. After Bacon and Bowers each stepped behind the three point line cut into the Lanphier lead, Bacon scored again on a drive to the basket and with 3:44 left in the first half, Lanphier coach Blake Turner called a timeout to regroup his squad. The Lincoln basketball that had been missing for a couple of games was showing back up as the game was cut to 17-16.

“I thought we showed a much better effort tonight. We went out and competed,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said. “Whether you go out and win or lose, whichever, as long as you compete and show effort, you can come out and give anyone a game.”

Well, as quickly as Lanphier ran out to the 12-0 run and Lincoln countered with a 12-2 run, the volley returned to Lanphier’s side with a 9-0 spurt to take the lead back to 26-16. Williams scored five of his team high 15 points in the run. Lincoln closed the half scoring the final four, pulling the Railers within six at 26-20.

It was another run for Lanphier, a 7-0 run to start the third. While that was going on, things started getting a bit chippy on the court. After a tussle left a couple of players on the floor, it seemed to take a while to untangle, including Bacon trying to get up while continually getting stepped on and over. Once up, there was more hard contact on the Railers’ end. Both circumstances involved Lanphier’s Rose, prompting Turner to remove his star, giving his leader a chance to cool down. During the uptick in physical play, Lanphier jumped up 33-20. Bowers hit a three for Lincoln’s first field goal of the half, but by the time the third quarter ended, the Lions had stretched out to a 13-point lead at 39-26. The odd quarters were the ones that did in Lincoln as the Railers were outscored 28-12 in the first and third combined, while playing even over the second and fourth.

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The Railers had enough for one final push. Two quick baskets from Bowers, including a twelve footer in the lane, cut the lead into single digits at 39-30. Lincoln had the ball a couple of times, down nine and with a chance to cut into the lead even more. However, the Lanphier defense turned up the speed and the pressure, turning more turnovers into points, increasing their lead to 48-32.

Lincoln connected for their last three of the night, and first of the evening from Bryson Kirby, with 3:00 to go. The Lions answered with a three from Corrington Jones to push the margin back to 16 at 51-36. Coming into the evening, Lanphier was shooting a tad over 30 percent from three point range. If this team had any weakness, it might be their outside shooting. How did things go on Tuesday night? Oc course, the Lions went 7-14 from three point range to make them even more of a dangerous team. “They are a very balanced team,” Alexander said. “They can cause problems for anyone in any style.”

After Bowers scored and Ben Grunder hit in the lane after Cannon kept a rebound alive, Lincoln was down 51-39. With 1:36 to go, a scrum on the floor resulted in Bacon leaving with an injury. The junior was having a difficult time sitting in a chair, let alone standing up from that position. It appeared that while diving for a loose ball in front of the Lincoln bench, someone landed on him and injured either his hip or lower back. Bacon did not return but hopefully will be good to go when Friday night rolls around.

Again, another tough battle in the Lincoln-Lanphier battle, the next to last as part of the Central State Eight. Bowers led the way with 18, while Bacon scored 12. Cannon added six with Kirby scoring three and Grunder chipping in with two.

The halfway point of the regular season is upon us Friday night as Lincoln heads back down I-55 to Springfield to take on the Senators. The Railers have already notched a win over the Senators this season, a 55-33 win on December 21, where Kirby had five threes for his 15 points. For Kirby, it may be just what the doctor ordered as he has only had four threes total over the last four games and the Railers look to end a four game losing streak. Varsity scheduled to start at 7:30 with the sophomores tipping at 6. The sophomore fell to Lanphier in the opener on Tuesday 56-45.

LINCOLN (41)

Bowers 8-15 0-1 18, Bacon 5-9 1-2 12, Cannon 2-4 2-2 6, Kirby 1-7 0-0 3, Grunder 1-6 0-0 2, Hullinger 0-1 0-0 0, Sloan 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM 17-42 3-5 41. 3pt FG 4-14 (Bowers 2-4, Bacon 1-3, Kirby 1-5, Hullinger 0-1, Grunder 0-1). Assists 7 (Cannon 4), Rebounds 20 (Bowers 4), Turnovers 14.

LANPHIER (57)

Williams 15, Rose 12, Boles 8, McGee 8, C.Jones 6, Wright 4, Edwards 3, J.Jones 1. TEAM 20-35 10-12 57. 3pt FG 7-14 (Williams 3, C.Jones 2, Rose, Edwards). Assists 13, Rebounds 21, Turnovers 10.

LCHS 6-14-6-15 41
LANPHIER 15-11-13-18 57

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