Lincoln falls to Effingham 45-41 on Senior Night

[March 08, 2021]  The Lincoln Railers honored three outstanding basketball players, Dylan Singleton, Landon Hullinger and Adam Grunder and an amazing Student Assistant, Trent Butterfield on Senior Night Friday night at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium just prior to the Varsity game with the Flaming Hearts.

While the outcome was not in favor of Lincoln, the Railers did give the fans an exciting game. It was close all the way until the end, with the Flaming Hearts edging out the Railers 45-41.

Senior Parker Wolfe immediately got things going for the Effingham offense with a three to start the game. Sophomore Garrett Wolfe quickly followed with his own three and the Flaming Hearts were up 6-0.

Lincoln would not get on the board until the 5:10 mark as Adam Grunder hit a three to cut the lead in half, 6-3 the Effingham lead. Garrett Wolfe put another three up on the scoreboard and it was evident the Flaming Hearts came to town ready to launch the ball from just about anywhere long range.

Dylan Singleton found his way into the scoring column with his drive in the lane at the 3:16 mark and just like that it was a 9-5 ballgame. The Flaming Hearts would stretch the lead to 13-7 after a bucket by Nate Thompson.

Singleton continued driving the lane, and getting knocked down but that didn’t stop him from scoring. With just under a minute to go, Singleton scored in the paint and the Flaming Hearts lead was 13-9. Another three by Parker Wolfe seconds later put Effingham up 16-9.

Lincoln had possession of the ball just before the quarter ended and it was Hullinger with the corner three in front of the Flaming Hearts bench to close the gap to 16-12.

The two teams traded buckets in the second quarter, with Lincoln still trailing by a basket each possession.

After Jaden Klopp’s offensive rebound and put back the Railers trailed just 18-16 at the 6:10 mark.

Hullinger’s three with 4:01 on the clock kept Lincoln on pace, trailing just 20-19 at this point. Every time Lincoln drew closer in the quarter, Parker Wolfe would score for Effingham. He put the Flaming Hearts up 24-21 with 1:42 left to play in the second quarter. Lincoln would miss an opportunity to score before the buzzer and the 24-21 score would remain at halftime.

Moving to the third quarter, Elijah Pollice was quick to get the Railers fired up with a three to tie, 24-24 the score. But here comes Parker Wolfe again with a three and Effingham has the lead back, 27-24 the score.

Another bucket by Pollice pulled the Railers closer, 27-26.

Singleton would finally give Lincoln a lead at the 3:43 mark when he put back the rebound from his own miss and the Railers were up 28-27. The lead was short-lived as Jacob Stoneburner and Parker Wolfe each scored to put the Flaming Hearts in front 32-28.

A little soft one-handed jumper in the lane by Brody Whiteman would complete the third quarter scoring with Lincoln trailing 32-30.

There would be no change in the score in the fourth quarter until Singleton tied the game at the 6:52 mark.

With just over five minutes to play in the game, Whiteman gave Lincoln a 34-32 lead and it seemed like this was going to be Lincoln’s quarter.

Landon Hullinger took a charge and that was just what the Railers needed to gain some momentum. It was Whiteman again scoring for Lincoln to extend the lead to 36-32. Here we go again with Parker Wolfe tying things up. The three-sport standout for Effingham (basketball, baseball and football), tied the game 36-36 with 3:50 left to play.

But the Railers hung tough and it would be Singleton scoring to put Lincoln back in front 38-36 with 3:39 left to play. Just under the two-minute mark Parker Wolfe struck again with a three and the Flaming Hearts were on top 39-38. In the final minute of the game Effingham continued to hold a slim 41-39 lead before Thompson made two free throws and that lead grew to 43-39.

With ten seconds to go, Singleton drove the lane for a layup and closed the gap to 43-41. A Lincoln foul put Thompson at the line again and he made two shots and it was a 45-41 Effingham lead. A missed three at the buzzer by Hullinger ended the game on a sad note. Lincoln takes the 45-41 to Effingham on Senior Night.

The Railers were led in scoring by Dylan Singleton with 15 points.

Parker Wolfe led all scorers with 25 points.

Lincoln falls to 12-4 overall and 8-4 in the Apollo Conference.

Effingham improves to 13-1 overall and 10-1 in the Apollo Conference.

In the JV game Lincoln won 47-38 with Payton Cook pouring in 20 points.

Lincoln has a basketball double-header today with games scheduled at Normal West later this morning and at home against Chatham Glenwood tonight. Game times are subject to change today but currently the JV is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and the Varsity at 12:30 p.m. at Normal West.
Tonight’s game with Chatham Glenwood is set to start at 5 p.m. for the JV and 6:30 p.m. for the Varsity.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 41

Singleton 15
Hullinger 8
Whiteman 8
Pollice 5
Grunder 3

Effingham 45

P. Wolfe 25
G. Wolfe 8
Thompson 6
Stoneburner 6

JV scoring

Lincoln 47

Cook 20
Gowin 8
Bivin 6
Sasse 5
Stevens 3
Schilling 3
Kingsley 2

Effingham 38

Donaldson 9
Hardiek 8
Fox 5
Splechter 5
Brown 4
Dillow 3
Hull 2
Estrada 2

[Teena Lowery]