Lincoln Railers win another thriller in overtime - take down Bloomington 69-67
Jermaine Hamlin leads Lincoln with a double-double 29 points and 11 rebounds for the 6'10 senior

[February 13, 2019] 

The Lincoln Railers met their match Tuesday night at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium as the Bloomington Purple Raiders came to town. Class 4A Bloomington High School came at the Railers with a gritty man-to-man defense and an in-your-face three-point attack that almost sunk the Railers. In the end it took Lincoln an extra four minutes in overtime to come away with the exciting 69-67 win.

Give the Purple Raiders credit. They were much better than their 15-10 record would lead you to believe. Playing without their best player, Chris Payton, who reportedly left the team last week for personal reasons, the Purple Raiders were focused and on fire early against the Railers.

The Railers won the tip and got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a drive by Kaden Froebe. Landon Moore answered at the other end with his own basket in the lane and the game was tied.

The Railers then went up 4-2 after a drive thru the lane by Dylan Singleton.

That 4-2 lead would be the only lead Lincoln would manage until the fourth quarter. Bloomington turned up the offense by hitting threes and quickly charged ahead 8-4.

Jermaine Hamlin hit for four points in the first quarter and Froebe had a sweet fadeaway jumper that accounted for the remainder of the Railers offense.

Baskets by Nate Duckworth and Griffin Moore paced the Purple Raiders out to 16-10 first quarter lead over Lincoln.

Second quarter

The second quarter scoring began with Noah Funk coming off the bench and picking up right where he left off Saturday night. Funk immediately hit a three to ignite the fans into a frenzy and close the gap 16-13.

Froebe and Singleton continued to fight their way thru the lane and score for Lincoln, but the Railers still trailed 23-19 as the clock showed 4:55.

Garrett Hooker of Bloomington quietly tossed in a couple shots in back-to-back possessions that extended the lead to 27-19.

Field goals by Will Ewald and Hamlin closed the gap again to 27-23 but it seemed like Bloomington always had an answer.

Duckworth's three at the 1:10 mark gave the Purple Raiders the 30-23 lead and Lincoln just could not grab a lead.

Froebe's drive just before the halftime buzzer sounded pulled Lincoln closer, 30-25. A fast-paced first half was in the books.
 

Third quarter

After the Purple Raiders extended the lead to 32-25 to start the third quarter, the Railers came storming back. Singleton, Hamlin and Ewald scored for Lincoln and finally it was a brand new ballgame, 32-32 the score.

Bloomington quickly regained the lead on a reverse layup by Caleb Donaldson and the foul shot that came with it.

Singleton came back with a little jumper off the free throw line that bounced in. A dunk by Donaldson at the other end rattled the rim and fired up the Purple Raiders.

But Hamlin quickly tossed in a turn around jumper from the lane and the Railers only trailed 37-36 at this point.

The two teams traded some foul shots for about a minute of the third quarter action that led to a 40-38 score.

Lincoln didn't dare give up, even when Landon Moore hit a three to extend the lead to 43-38. Passing the ball for the final minute, Lincoln scrambled to stay in control.

With the clock ticking, Funk did it again. He somehow managed to get the shot off with Purple Raiders flying all around him. It was perfectly timed and went through the net as the buzzer sounded.

At the end of three, Lincoln was coming back with a vengeance and trailed just 43-41.

Fourth quarter

The Railers still trailed 47-43 a couple minutes into the fourth quarter until the tide finally turned.

First it was Funk with the three in front of Railer Nation to make the score 47-46. That's a perfect 3-for-3 for Funk from beyond the arc. John Guzzardo was really liking that from behind the Railers bench.

Precisely a minute later, Hamlin got the pass from Froebe, shook loose his defender and threw down a monster dunk for the 48-47 Lincoln lead. The crowd went wild.

The two teams continued to battle with each other and exchange leads. With just 1:28 left to play, Bloomington went up 57-55 on a three by Landon Moore.

Hamlin tied the score with two pretty points in the paint and gave Lincoln the 58-57 lead after he sank the free throw he was due as the clock showed 59.3 seconds.

The Purple Raiders went back door to recapture the lead. A nice move by Donaldson under the basket resulted in a 59-58 Bloomington lead.

Singleton took his man to the basket and left him glued to the floor while he skied for two points high off the backboard and a 60-59 Railer lead with just around 26.2 seconds left to play.

With 16.3 seconds left the Purple Raiders called timeout and set up their game-winning strategy. Donaldson had an opportunity to score but he was clobbered by the Railer defense and sent to the free throw line with 7.8 seconds on the clock. He carefully swished the first shot to tie the game 60-60. But the second attempt rolled out from around the rim and off the hands of Lincoln on the rebound attempt - Bloomington ball.

Hold on tight for this wild ride. Bloomington had 6.5 seconds to win the game. Donaldson dribbled into the lane, was stripped of the ball by Singleton and the big guy retaliated by grabbing Singleton's arm.

It's beginning to look a lot like overtime.

A foul was called and Singleton went to the line as the clock showed .5 seconds. He missed the front end of the bonus, kind of hard to believe out of this guy, but the ball spun in and out around the rim. A last half-second full court toss by Bloomington missed the mark and the game would have to be settled in overtime.

OT

The four minutes of overtime started with Lincoln gaining possession of the ball. Hamlin was quickly fouled and made one of the free throws to put Lincoln up 61-60.

Donzell Johnson then put Bloomington on top 62-61.

Singleton repeated history, in a good way, and took his man along for the ride to the bucket, kissing the ball high off the glass again for two points. Lincoln was back in the lead, 63-62.

Duckworth reclaimed the lead for Bloomington with a couple foul shots as 2:48 remained. Froebe's drive then put Lincoln back on top 65-64.

Landon Moore tied the game 65-65 on a free throw with 2:17 left in the game.

Hamlin then put Lincoln in the lead 67-65 with a field goal in the lane.

An exciting Railers game? Pretty much.

The folks who had already gathered to leave early were still hanging by the entryway of the gymnasium, caught up in the excitement. What they saw was Griffin Moore fire a pass down under to Donaldson again and he went back door for two points and the tie, 67-67 as 1:37 remained in overtime.

Singleton took control in the next possession and his shot in the lane just bounced off the front of the rim and the Purple Raiders rebounded the ball.

Bloomington would hold possession of the ball the next minute of play, causing more and more anxiety among Railer fans. Finally Duckworth threw up a shot that was no good and the rebound went off Donaldson.

Lincoln ball.

Landon Hullinger inbounded the ball to Froebe. Froebe ran the ball up the court and tossed it into Hamlin and it was meant to be that Hamlin draw the foul. He is clutch at the free throw line this season.

Jermaine Hamlin waits patiently for the Purple Raiders. Hamlin would sink two free throws with .2 seconds remaining and give Lincoln the 69-67 edge over Bloomington.

With .2 seconds on the clock Hamlin stepped to the line to shoot two. His two shots didn't even touch the rim as they fell through the net.

A Railer win means a 23-2 overall season record.

Lincoln had a 69-67 lead and Bloomington had just .2 seconds to do something about it.

Inbounding the ball under the Railers basket was interesting. Landon Moore tossed the ball to a leaping out-of-bounds Johnson who accepted the lateral pass and quickly threw a "Hail Mary" downcourt to Donaldson. Just like the New England Patriots would do.

Donaldson used a quick spin move to release the ball and it just ricocheted off the rim as time expired. It was an impressive attempt for the win but Lincoln comes from behind and defeats Bloomington 69-67 in overtime.

Jermaine Hamlin scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Kaden Froebe continues to make things happen and enjoy a sensational junior year. Froebe poured in 14 points.

Finally, Dylan Singleton put on his hard hat and battled the big guys for 12 points.

Lincoln's Varsity improves to 23-2 on the season.

JV

The Lincoln JV earned the 52-45 win over Bloomington.

Landon Hullinger was back in action on the court, sporting a purple eye following an injury last Friday night versus Effingham. Hullinger led the Railers with 20 points.

Seth Tungate tossed in 16 points for Lincoln. Tungate hit 7-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch and was 10-for-12 from the free throw line for the game.

The Lincoln JV improves to 17-5 on the season.

Railer Nation

Shoutout to Railer Nation, who once again proved why they are the best. Decked out in country attire, the students shouted out in full force and never let up.

Railer Nation pumped up the volume all night long.

Led by Austin O'Donoghue, these kids make it difficult for any opposing team to step onto Neil Alexander Court and sneak away with a win. Chants like,"Where you going?" when a travel is called can't help but put a smile on your face. The enthusiasm of this gang does not go unnoticed.

Railer Nation has another opportunity to play an important role Friday night when Taylorville comes to town. The JV will tip-off at 6 p.m. and the varsity will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 69

Hamlin 29
Froebe 14
Singleton 12
Funk 9
Ewald 5

Bloomington 67

Donaldson 19
Duckworth 17
Landon Moore 15
Johnson 9
Hooker 5
Griffin Moore 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 52

Hullinger 20
Tungate 16
B. Whiteman 7
Grunder 3
Ferguson 2
McCraith 2
Pollice 2

Bloomington 45

Barger 14
French 13
Rink 9
Baker 6
Heath 3

[Teena Lowery]