Railers defeat Spartans 59-35

[December 04, 2021] The Lincoln Railers welcomed the Olympia Spartans to the Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium on Friday night. The Railers stayed consistent with their starting lineup, featuring senior Elijah Pollice, junior Tyler Sasse, junior Jake Bivin, junior Payton Cook and sophomore Aidan Gowin. Throw in a great performance off the bench by junior Camden Nelson and the Railers picked up a 59-35 win over Olympia.

Lincoln’s Payton Cook won the opening tip, but it would take a while for the scoring to get underway. Pollice’s two free throws broke the ice and after a three from Gowin, Lincoln was up 5-2 at the 5:00 mark. A three from Andrew Litwiller tied the game 5-5. After another tie at 7-7, the Railers jumped in front on a basket by Pollice. Pollice would extend the lead to 11-8 and before the first quarter ended, Jake Bivin would knock down a field goal to make the score 13-10.

Pollice kicked off the second quarter scoring with a sweet jumper to stretch the lead to 15-10. Adam Swartzendruber’s field goal and the ‘and one’ made the score 15-13. Lincoln went on an 11-0 run in just under two minutes, capped off by a three from Gowin, and the Railers lead was 26-13. Another three from Gowin made the score 29-17. Pollice’s free throw with 20.7 seconds left until halftime set the score at 30-17.

The Spartans chipped away at the lead in the third quarter, gaining a little ground after baskets by Andrew Litwiller and Chase Litwiller. Lincoln was back to a double-digit lead after Pollice’s free throws, 34-22 the score. Gowin’s drive in the lane at the 2:50 mark made the score 36-22. 6’0 junior Camden Nelson had entered the game in the first half but not the scorebook. That would change in a big way in the second half. Near the end of the third quarter, Nelson was fouled shooting a three in front of the Railers bench. He would proceed to get three chances from the free throw line and each and every one dropped through the net without even touching the rim. Saegan Pierce hit a long three for the Spartans just ahead of the third quarter buzzer and the Railers lead was 39-26 with just eight minutes of basketball left to play.

Nelson connected for a three to start the fourth quarter scoring and the Railers were dominating with a 42-26 lead now. A minute later, Nelson hit nothing but net from the top of the key and that prompted Railer Nation to chant “Nelly, Nelly!” Pollice, who was having an outstanding night in his own right, went coast-to-coast for the layup with 5:28 showing on the game clock and the Railers lead was 47-27. Thirty-seconds later it was Nelson with another three. Not only did his long shots pump up the crowd, but also his teammates. A quick steal by the Railers and the nice move by Bivin in the lane put the Railers up 52-30. Bivin carried his momentum into the next Railers possession and scored on another drive, making the Lincoln lead 54-33. Nelson certainly had the hot hand in the quarter and he hit a two-point shot with 2:30 left to make the score 56-33. One more three from Nelson, this time taking it from the top of the key, made the score 59-35 with 1:09 left. That would be the final score.

It was a catch and shoot kinda night for Camden Nelson, who poured in 17 points off the bench.

Camden Nelson finishes with 17 points off the bench. Elijah Pollice also had 17 points for Lincoln. Aidan Gowin finished with 13 points and Jake Bivin tossed in 10 points.

Lincoln improves to 5-0 on the season.

The Lincoln JV team defeated Olympia 59-24. Trey Schilling led the Railers with 14 points. Ki’on Carson hit double-figures with 12 points.

Lincoln will host Mattoon tonight. The JV game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. The Varsity will tip-off at 7 p.m.


Varsity scoring

Lincoln 59

Nelson 17
Pollice 17
Gowin 13
Bivin 10
Cook 2

Olympia 35

A. Litwiller 10
Swartzendruber 8
Pierce 7
C. Litwiller 4
Wille 2
Dare 2
O’Donnell 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 59

Schilling 14
Ki’on Carson 12
Kani Carson 9
Toft 7
Meagher 6
Miller 5
Dahmm 4
Hayes 2

Olympia 24

Alford 8
Rios 5
Nowaskie 4
Elgin 3
Smith 2
Olsen 2

[Teena Lowery]