Railers beat the Green Wave 50-29

[December 05, 2021] The Lincoln Railers picked up their first win of this season in the Apollo Conference on Saturday night with a 50-29 victory over the Green Wave of Mattoon. The win didn’t come as easy as the final score might indicate. The Railers took their game to the next level and battled a tough team from Mattoon.

The Green Wave brought with them to Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium a 4-1 overall record and a 1-0 record in the Apollo Conference. Lincoln would certainly have their hands full Saturday night. To make matters more interesting, the Green Wave have a strong 6’8 center by the name of Sam Bradbury who can certainly move bodies out of his way en route to the basket.

Bradbury won the tip for the Green Wave and it was Cooper Bergstrom with the first bucket of the night giving Mattoon the 2-0 edge early. Jake Bivin tied the game with his drive through the lane a minute into the action. The Railers trailed 4-2 after a couple free throws from Bergstrom. Tyler Sasse nailed a three on the assist from Payton Cook at the 5:45 mark to put the Railers on top 5-4. Bradbury pushed his way through the lane for his first basket thirty-seconds later and the Green Wave were back on top 6-5. Once the ball was back in the hands of the Railers, a quick three from Aidan Gowin put Lincoln in front 8-6. Bradbury sank two free throws to tie the game 8-8. Mattoon would run out to a 13-8 lead but just before the quarter ended, Camden Nelson would enter the game.

After Friday night’s 17-point performance from Nelson, it was pretty obvious the last play would be designed around him. After Elijah Pollice fired a pass into Darren Stevens, Stevens offered up a quick touch-pass to Nelson, who was set up in front of the Green Wave bench. Nelson caught the pass a little low, but nonetheless aimed high and just watched it sail through the net as the clock ticked down to 3.8 seconds. Railer Nation chanted, “Nelly, Nelly” as the Green Wave struggled to inbound the ball. Lincoln trailed 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Railers defense tries to contain Mattoon's Sam Bradbury.

Bradbury scored in the paint to start the second quarter and the Green Wave lead grew to 15-11. Nelson struck again with another three to close the gap to 15-14 with 7:23 showing on the clock. Christian Larson’s bucket with 4:07 showing kept the Green Wave rolling with the lead now 17-14. A steal by Gowin led to a Railer bucket as the quick 5’11 sophomore went all the way for the layup. Lincoln was playing catch-up with the Green Wave still on top 17-16. With just under two minutes left in the first half, Nelson came through again. This time the 6’0 junior sank a three from the top of the key to give Lincoln a boost and a 19-17 lead. Bradbury was pretty much unstoppable in the first half and he scored again in the paint to tie the game 19-19 with just about a minute left to go in the second quarter. Nelson was still on the court though and he was certainly making waves (and baskets) that left the Mattoon players dazed and confused. With 40.2 seconds left Nelson was way beyond the three-point line when he launched the ball. It swished through the net and Railer Nation erupted. Nelson was putting on a show and the fans inside Roy S. Anderson loved every second of it.

As the Railers trotted off to the locker room at the end of the first half, they were on top 22-19 and Nelson had 12 of those points. Nelson had even managed to outscore the Green Waves’ center, Bradbury, who had poured in 10 first half points.

The action in the third quarter lived up to all expectations. Cook, who had more fouls than points at this point, stepped outside the paint to take a jumper from the corner. He has a sweet jump shot and as the ball sailed through the net, Lincoln stretched the lead to 24-19. Jaylen Middleton answered with a soft baseline jumper for Mattoon at the other end of the court. As the clock showed 3:29 it was Bivin in the lane, surrounded by green, fighting his way to the basket, and keeping Lincoln in front 26-21. Bradbury would sink two more free throws in the third quarter, proving that he’s no Shaquille O’Neal, he’s actually better from the free throw line, but Lincoln was still on top 26-23.

Nelson (1) watches Pollice (5) score against the Green Wave.

That score was about to change with the ball in the hands of Nelson again. He drained another three, this time in front of the Railer bench, and Railer Nation started with the “You can’t guard him” chants. They were right. It didn’t matter how many hands were in front of Nelson Saturday night, he was on fire and the Green Wave couldn’t stop him. All they could do was look at the scoreboard and see Lincoln on top 29-23. Pollice added a jumper just inside the three-point line that hit nothing but net to keep the excitement going and with a 31-23 lead, Lincoln was looking impressive. Just wait, there’s more.

With Cook having a little foul trouble, a 6’4 freshman by the name of Drew Hayes was thrown out there to guard the shadow of Bradbury. Hayes was getting a few chances to touch the ball in the lane and with just under a minute left in the third quarter, he drew a foul and stepped to the free throw line to get his first Varsity points in a Railer uniform. He put Lincoln up 33-23 and he wasn’t done yet.

Payton Cook jumped center against Sam Bradbury

Getting a little more confident and holding his own against the big boys, Hayes fought for an offensive rebound and went up strong to score. He would even get fouled and have the opportunity for a three-point play. Stepping to the free throw line again, his shot hit the rim and bounced high right before it fell through the hoop. This caused Railer Nation to explode with what everybody was waiting to hear, “He’s a freshman!” Five points in thirty seconds by the freshman put Lincoln up 36-23 and that lead would stick as the fourth quarter rolled around.

The fourth quarter saw the collapse of the Green Wave, as the Railers just kept pouring it on. Bivin scored, Hayes scored, Sasse scored, Pollice scored and as another quick eight minutes went by, the final score was reached. Lincoln could celebrate their first Apollo Conference win of the season with a 50-29 victory over the Green Wave.

Drew Hayes drives and scores over the Green Wave defenders.

Camden Nelson led Lincoln with 15 points. Jake Bivin quietly tossed in 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds.

It truly was a heckuva ballgame. The Railers continue to play hard for 32 minutes. They have shown a ton of improvement each game. They are playing with more confidence and poise each and every possession. It’s exciting to look forward to what will happen next. It’s just Railer basketball. Gotta love it!

The Railers improved to 6-0 on the season with this win over Mattoon. Lincoln is now 1-0 in the Apollo Conference.

In the JV game, Lincoln defeated Mattoon 44-29. Drew Hayes led the Railers with 13 points.

Lincoln will play at Taylorville on Tuesday night. The JV will tip-off at 6 p.m. The Varsity is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.


Varsity scoring

Lincoln 50

Nelson 15
Bivin 10
Hayes 7
Pollice 6
Sasse 5
Gowin 5
Cook 2

Mattoon 29

Bradbury 14
Larson 7
Bergstrom 6
Middleton 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 44

Hayes 13
Ki’on Carson 9
Schilling 7
Toft 5
Miller 3
Meagher 3
Stevens 2
Evers 2

Mattoon 29

Rice 9
Hawkins 6
Wetzel 3
Kirts 3
Helms 2
Gardner 2
Haugh 2
Smith 2

[Teena Lowery]