Lincoln defense falters in non-conference loss
NORMAL COMMUNITY 59, LINCOLN 47

[January 30, 2017]  Railer Nation is very fortunate that, win or lose, Lincoln coach Neil Alexander is always gracious enough to find our broadcast position and visit with us on the post game show. Sometimes, it takes a while to piece together exactly where Coach Al is headed and how he truly feels about the just completed contest. On Saturday night, it didn’t take long for him to get to the point and sum up the game rather quickly.

“Their offense out-executed out defense. Plain and simple, we got beat by a better team tonight.”

The Lincoln defense surrendered a season high 59 points en route to a 59-47 loss to the Ironmen of Normal Community. There was hope for a weekend sweep after Lincoln knocked off MacArthur on Friday night. However, on Saturday night, it was dominated by Normal in a game in which Lincoln did not hold the lead at any point, only the second time that has happened all season. Shots were not falling, the Ironmen were able to exploit gaps in the defense and, when they missed, Normal found a way to get to the boards. The game was a recipe for a loss.

“I’m not sure why, but there was not much fight or much hop out there for us tonight,” Alexander said. With our defense, one person can hurt our defense if they are not were they are supposed to be and we saw that tonight.”

Normal (11-11) came into the night off an overtime loss to Normal West the evening before and it didn’t take long for the Ironmen to get on the board. After a second jump ball was needed, it only took about five seconds and two passes for Normal’s CJ Wilbourn to get an easy lay in. Lincoln was able to tie the game with a basket from Ben Grunder, who had a toe on the three point line. That toe was as close as the Railers were to having a lead. Daylen Boddie, who seemed content to just run the offense for Normal, stepped up and hit a three while Isaiah Bowers scored on a drive to cut the lead to 5-4. Free throws the rest of the quarter left the game tied at 6. Coming in, both teams were very comfortable at playing a slow down game so a total of twelve points was no surprise.

The offense picked up a bit in the second quarter starting with a three from Myles Smith before a baseline drive from Grunder. The holes in the Lincoln started to show when Normal’s Ben Walker scored on consecutive possessions by receiving passes on the low block and scoring with no opposition. With the Ironmen up 13-8, it was an out of bounds play that drew the Railers closer as the ball ended up with Nolan Hullinger who connected on a three pointer. The three was countered by another three from Boddie to push the advantage back to 16-11. A pair of free throws from Bowers and a three from Titus Cannon brought the game back to even at 16.

Heading down the stretch of the second, it was the three point shot that was the best weapon for Normal. A three from Blake Foster was followed by free throws from Dishon Hall. Down 21-16, the Railers turned to the quickness of Cannon who was able to drive the side of the lane, get to the basket and score as well as get fouled. After the free throw, Cannon’s quick six had pulled the Railers within 21-19. Another free throw from hill set the halftime score at 22-19.

This season, halftime has told quite the tale for the Railers. Lincoln, including Friday night’s win, is 13-1 with the lead at the break. However, being down has left them in a precarious position as Lincoln entered the contest just 1-5 if down at half. A quick start in the third would certainly help turn that trend around.

Just as requested, Hullinger hit a quick three to tie the game at 22 and it felt as though that after a subpar first half, the second half would be going in the right direction. Alas, it was Normal’s Walker that took control, scoring seven in a row, either from about two feet away or the free throw line. After Walker’s run, the Ironmen lead grew to 29-22. Free throws by Cannon after a drive that did not result in a basket slowed the run, but troubles on the offensive boards and a missed double dribble call came back to bit the Railers. After the officials missed an obvious double dribble, the Ironmen missed a three, and then missed three offensive rebound attempts. When the last try leaked out, it was Normal that came back with it, leading to a three from Jake McCaw. Give a team five shots and they will take advantage, all the way to a 32-24 lead over the Railers. Another drive by Cannon down the lane cut the lead back to six. It seemed to be Cannon’s night, but his night’s scoring would stop there at ten.

Normal’s final scoring left them with a 34-26 lead before Lincoln made a run at the end of the third. Even though the play seemed out of sequence, the ball ended up with Drew Bacon who sank a three from near the top of the key and the margin was down to three at 34-31. Again, getting close but just unable to get the lead. Maybe the fourth would be different.

Of course, it could have been if the Ironmen would have cooperated and missed some free throws. Jalen Coleman’s first of three threes in the fourth pushed the lead back to six, but Bryson Kirby, who struggled from long range, finally hit from deep the bring the game back to three at 37-34. A basket from Justin Myers and four more free throws stretched the game back to nine at 43-34. Kirby, who had been held scoreless in the first three quarters, connected again from three point range to pull Lincoln closer. Another three, one of nine on the night for Normal, got the lead back to nine which then grew to twelve as Coleman hit another from long range. With the scoreboard reading 49-37, things were looking bleak for the Railers. A lay-in by Bacon off a nice interior pass got Lincoln within ten.

But, the threes just kept falling and the Railer defense could not find the way to stop Normal. Kirby did try to keep Lincoln close as he hit his third three of the night to make it 52-42 with about 2:30 left in the game. The three was noteworthy for the senior as he reached 100 carerr threes. But it was free throws that stymied the Railers as the Ironmen hit 18 of 21 for the game including 14 of 15 in the second half to seal the win.

So, which is the better depiction of the Railers? The team that beat a fully-staffed MacArthur team ten days ago and then picked up a win over Eisenhower last weekend or the team that fell to Normal in an uninspired effort? That is the head-scratching question. As we head into the final month of the regular season, the ups and downs we have seen are frustrating but not the end of the season. However, when tournament time rolls around, all it takes is one bad night and the season is done. Sure, a team can get on a roll and we know Coach Alexander tunes his teams to be playing their best heading into March. But, if a team is susceptible to games like Saturday night, hopefully that will be phased out going into the final seven games of the regular season.

The Railers were led by Cannon’s double figure performance of ten, with Kirby’s nine in the fourth quarter. Bowers had eight with Hullinger and Grunder scoring six each. Bacon chipped in with five while Eddie Combs hit a late three to round out the scoring.

The Railers have only one game on the schedule but it will be a challenge as they travel to Southeast for a matchup with the Spartans on Friday night. The Spartans sit in second place in the conference and Lincoln will see them twice over a three week period, including the season’s final game of the regular season. The sophomores, winners last night 31-21, will tip off at 6:00pm with the varsity set for 7:30. It’s the last trip for the Railers to Southeast as conference foes so let’s see a big turn out from Railer Nation.

LINCOLN (47)

Cannon 3 3-3 10, Kirby 3 0-0 9, Bowers 1 6-6 8, Hullinger 2 0-1 6, Grunder 3 0-0 6, Bacon 2 0-0 5, Combs 1 0-0 3, Sloan 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 0-0 0, Birnbaum 0 0-0 0, Holliday 0 0-0 0, Hamblin 0 0-0 0. TEAM 15 9-10 47. 3pt FG 8 (Kirby 3, Hullinger 2, Cannon, Bacon, Combs).

NORMAL (59)

Walker 15, Coleman 9, Boddie 8, Hall 8, Smith 6, Wilbourn 4, Foster 3, McCaw 3, Myers 2, Wells 1. TEAM 16 18-21 59. 3pt FG 9 (Coleman 3, Boddie 2, Smith 2, Foster, McCaw).


LCHS 6-13-12-16 47
NORMAL 6-16-12-25 59

[Jeff Benjamin]