Railers win the 2019 Lincoln/Eaton Thanksgiving Tournament over Danville 43-31
Hullinger leads with 15 points

[December 01, 2019]  The Lincoln Railers improved to 4-0 on the season as they won the Lincoln/Eaton Thanksgiving Tournament over Danville on Saturday night 43-31.

The Railers were quick to entertain the crowd inside Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium as the championship game tipped off shortly after 8 p.m.

Kaden Froebe started the scoring with a long three for Lincoln and that was just a sign of things to come in the quarter.

Nathanael Hoskins of Danville tied the score with his own three at the other end and this would be the first and last tie of the game.

Will Ewald was the next Railer to connect from beyond the arc and Lincoln was up 6-3.

Kameron Whiteman put the score at 9-3 when he decided to step back even farther and hit a long, long three.

Just before the close of the quarter Ewald missed a three but Landon Hullinger was right there to tap the ball back through the rim as the buzzer sounded and the Railers closed out the quarter on top 11-3.

Whiteman was the man who got the second quarter scoring started. This three from the top was nothing but net at the 7:37 mark and the Railers were off and running.

On the next Railers possession it was Froebe’s turn to dial it in. His three extended the lead to 17-3 and this was just a lot of fun to watch.

Danville called a timeout as they had to figure out how to stop this. Hoskins came out of the huddle to boost his team with a basket but Lincoln was quick to shuffle things up.

This go round featured Hullinger stepping out and connecting from the corner for a three. Hullinger, a junior who led the JV in scoring last season, liked that bucket so much he did it again 20 seconds later. For those tallying at home the score was now 23-7 and Lincoln had connected for 7 three-pointers in the first half. The crowd was loving every second of it.

Danville would have to settle for a two from Tevin Smith as the quarter came to an end and Lincoln trotted off to the locker room on top 23-9. That was a quick first half.

Hullinger’s hand was still hot to start the third quarter for Lincoln. Another three from him and Railer Nation kept the “Lando, Lando” chants coming.

Froebe and Dylan Singleton managed a couple points in the paint to change things up a bit and Lincoln’s lead grew to 30-13.

The Railers continued to play patient offense on one end and just flat out incredible defense on the other end. Both paying off great dividends.

Hullinger would hit one more field goal for Lincoln in the third quarter and the Railers lead over the Vikings was 32-17 with the last eight minutes about to get underway.

Froebe worked his way through the paint early in the fourth quarter to toss up a floater for two points.

Hullinger continued the scoring run as he took a quick pass from Whiteman and laid it in.

Then it was Singleton scrambling for the bucket and fighting his way through for a not-so-easy two points. This junior is tough as nails. The 6-0 run gave the Railers their biggest lead of the night, 21 points, as they were on top 38-17 over the Vikings.

In a game that had very few fouls through three quarters, the final quarter was understandable a bit different. No worries. The Railers managed to sink 5-of-7 free throws down the stretch put the 43-31 win in the books.

Landon Hullinger was the leading scorer on this night, pouring in 15 points.

Kaden Froebe made the night successful with his first double-double of the season. Froebe was good for 12 points and 12 rebounds.

On the boards both Lincoln and Danville pulled down 38 rebounds. Will Ewald was flying high all night in the lane, busy grabbing 9 rebounds for Lincoln.

Lincoln improves to 4-0 on the season.

The Railers will host Taylorville on Friday, December 6, 2019 at Roy S. Anderson.

Stats

Lincoln 43

Hullinger 15
Froebe 12
Whiteman 6
Singleton 6
Ewald 4


Danville 31

Hoskins 13
Smith 11
Parker 3
Rhodes 2
Miles 1
Crowder 1

[Teena Lowery]