Lincoln falls in overtime; both teams struggle on offense
GLENWOOD 26, LINCOLN 22

[January 14, 2017]  CHATHAM -- Coming into Friday night’s game, the telling number for the Lincoln Railers season so far had been eight. In each game the Railers enjoyed a lead of at least eight points, Lincoln came away with a win. If, however, Lincoln failed to get to at least that margin, the game ended up in the loss column. Who would have thought, even been brave enough to consider, that eight points was not some magical margin on Friday. It was the total points Lincoln scored in the first half. Of course, the Railers’ defense held Glenwood to that same total. But, in a game where both teams seemed allergic to scoring, the Titans made enough plays and came through when needed at the free throw line to knock off Lincoln 26-22 in overtime.

I’m not sure there are enough words to describe how much struggles there were on offense in Chatham last night. Lincoln shot 7 of 30, making only one shot in the fourth quarter and overtime combined. Defensively, the Railers held Glenwood to only four field goals after halftime. Both teams had difficulties but the home team did just enough to get the win and leave Railer Nation feeling deflated. My broadcast partner for the night, Scott Kirby, may have put it best when he described the game as feeling like you would when you lose in regional play and it’s the last game of the season. There is still a little over a third of the season left so this isn’t the end. But, as Coach Neil Alexander said, “we’ve got to find a way to score or we could find ourselves falling to 11-11 real quick.”

The Railer entered the night at 11-5 while Glenwood, fresh off a win the night before over Jacksonville, was only 7-10. With the difficulties and issues Glenwood has had this season with players not going out for the team, it seemed Lincoln was catching a Glenwood team that was ripe for the picking. Glenwood got on top early with a 4-0 lead before Ben Grunder put Lincoln on the board with a basket. Titus Cannon split a pair of free throws to pull the Railers closer at 4-3. There were more issues from the free throw line, especially during the extra session. Although neither team was stressing the scoreboard, the Lincoln offense took a hit when junior Isaiah Bowers picked up his second foul with 1:43 to go in the first quarter. Bowers went to the bench and did not return in the first half. Glenwood scored again to go up by three again before Bryson Kirby scored on a layup on the left side of the lane as time ticked down leaving Lincoln down one heading to the second quarter.

Bryson Kirby and Matt Bahlmann.

If this was Jeopardy, the above response would be properly answered by “who were the only players to score in the second quarter of Friday night’s game?” Kirby’s three gave Lincoln their first lead of the night at 8-6, while Bahlmann’s bucket tied the game at eight. That’s it. No more. A total of sixteen points in sixteen minutes. Historically, Lincoln-Glenwood matchups are low scoring and the comments are “first one to thirty wins.” As the game reached intermission, it felt as though twenty might be the ultimate goal.

The third quarter saw an offensive uptick. With sixteen points in the first half, the Railers and Titans combined for 15 points in just the third. Obviously, the offense being called out for its production is tongue in cheek. However, you could see some things that made you feel that teams were finally settling in. Grunder continued to play strong and was aggressive in his drive to the basket to give the lead back to the Railers at 10-8. A Glenwood free throw and another score from Grunder, who led with a game-high ten points, gave Lincoln their largest lead of the night at 12-9. (Uh-oh, largest lead didn’t make it to eight. Not a good sign).

A three form Will Hanlon tied the game at 12 while a free throw put Glenwood back up 13-12. Back from his first half foul trouble, Bowers scored on a baseline jumper to switch the lead back to Lincoln. Bahlmann scored again before Hanlon was fouled shooting a three. He made only two leaving the Titans up 17-14 after three quarters.

If Lincoln was going to top their worst offensive production since last season, a 26 point performance last February at Joliet Central, someone, anyone was going to have to step up. “What teams have been doing is taking away Isaiah and taking away Bryson,” Alexander said. “We have to have others step up and we have to find other options.”

Cue Bryson Kirby, who hit his second three of the night, the only scoring for either team in the fourth quarter, to knot the game at 17. Both teams were very willing to run clock and be patient on offense. Whether or not it lulled the opposing defense to sleep didn’t seem to matter because each team just could not find the bottom of the basket. Lincoln got the final possession of overtime with just under 2:00 to go in the game. With timeouts being taken by each squad, the coaches were trying to find a way to pick up the win. When Lincoln’s final shot did not find the mark, it seemed fitting somehow that there would be extra basketball.

With few points being scored, any lead seemed to be multiplied two to three-fold. So, when Conley Price converted a three point play for Glenwood, the 20-17 seemed a large hill to climb. Remember the mention of free throw issues. Bad timing as it hit in the early stages of overtime. Bowers was fouled going to the basket but neither of his free throws found the make. A turnover by Glenwood led to another chance for the Railers and, when Kirby was fouled shooting a three, a chance for the lead was in the hands of the Lincoln senior. Free throw troubles – take two. Kirby hit just one of the three, bringing the Railers within 20-18 but leaving them one of five from the line in the first 90 seconds of overtime.

Glenwood stepped up at the line in the extra session. Bahlmann sank both to push the lead to 22-18. With 1:28 left, Grunder exhibited a cool demeanor by hitting both free throws to again cut the lead to two at 22-20. After another turnover, the Railers were put in position to tie the game or take the lead with one from the behind the arc. Despite the offensive woes, one good possession at the right time could put a lot of the problems on the back burner, at least for a night. Unfortunately, the struggles continued with another miss. Throughout most of the night, Glenwood was satisfied with slowing the ball down. Late in overtime, the Titans changed things up with the rebound by getting the ball to Bahlmann who raced down the left sideline, but in towards the basket and laid it in for a 24-20 spread.

Grunder continued to do his part in keeping Lincoln alive. Grunder his two more free throws to cut the game to 24-22with 20 seconds left. Five seconds later, Karson Aherin was sent to the line where he split the pair, giving Lincoln one final chance. As the Railers worked the ball around, it was left to Bowers to try to tie the game but his three missed the mark and the rebound was tipped around and finally fell in the hands of Glenwood’s Jason Hansbrough. His final free throw gave us the final score.

It does take a while to comprehend teams combining for 48 points in a game that went overtime. There were only 15 made baskets with the squads going 15 of 26 from the line. Not a game going to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Grunder led the way with ten points, while Kirby added nine. Bowers finished with two and Cannon made one free throw. Again, with only 22 points, not a lot of scoring to list.

The Railers will get an unexpected day off on Saturday. Originally scheduled to take on MacArthur, the threat of freezing rain/ice storm conditions across the area resulted in the postponement of all activities involving Decatur public schools. The game will be made up this coming Wednesday. If you are looking at your schedule correctly, you’ll notice Lincoln with four games over five days starting with the next game, a Tuesday contest at Rochester.

Let’s hope that by Tuesday, the Railers scoring will thaw just like the temperature is expected to do.

LINCOLN (22)

Grudner 3 4-4 10, Kirby 3 1-3 9, Bowers 1 0-2 2, Cannon 0 1-2 1, Hullinger 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 0-0 0, Sloan 0 0-0 0. TEAM 7 6-11 22. 3pt FG 2 (Kirby 2).

GLENWOOD (26)

Bahlmann 10, Hanlon 5, Price 4, Aherin 2, Vogler 2, Kilby 2, Hansbrough 1. TEAM 8 9-15 26. 3pt FG 1 (Hanlon).

LCHS 5-3-6-3-5 22
GLENWOOD 6-2-9-0-9 26

[Jeff Benjamin]