Railers defeat Effingham 42-29 on Senior Night 
- Junior Payton Cook steals the show with a monster dunk and a double-double

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[February 12, 2022] The Lincoln Railers hosted Effingham in an Apollo Conference matchup on Senior Night Friday at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. Lincoln dominated the game from the tip-off and picked up a 42-29 win to improve their record to 10-1 in the conference.

 

The Railers took an early 3-0 lead over the Hearts after Payton Cook opened the scoring in the paint and finished the three-point play at the free throw line. Cook would also extend the lead to 5-2 with another basket in the lane just under the 6:00 mark. Aidan Gowin extended the lead to 7-2 with his floater in the lane. And then with 4:02 showing on the first quarter clock, Gowin tossed up what first looked like a three that was going to be way off. But then the crowd rose to their feet as Cook came flying through the air and grabbed the intended alley-oop pass and he slammed it through the rim. The gym erupted. This was a moment everyone had been waiting on all season long. Cook’s first monster dunk of the season and it was a beauty. Kudos to Gowin, too. The alley-oop was perfect. Cook’s dunk gave his team a 9-2 lead and as a timeout was called shortly after the moment, the junior trotted over to the bench and the crowd was still cheering. The Railers were having a lot of fun in the first quarter. On the Railers next possession, senior Elijah Pollice hit a three from the corner by the Hearts bench, and the 12-2 Lincoln lead had the crowd in a frenzy. After Gowin’s two free throws, the lead was 14-2. Cook would finish the first quarter scoring by pouring in two more baskets off the offensive rebounds he pulled down and the Railers were in command with an 18-4 first quarter lead.

 

The Railers did not make their first field goal in the second quarter until the 3:00 mark. Pollice made a tough shot in the paint surrounded by defenders in red and the Railers were in front 21-6.  A minute later Tyler Sasse drained a three and Lincoln was up 24-9. A baseline drive by Cook completed the Railers first half scoring and the two teams trotted to the lockers room with Lincoln up 26-13.

 

Jake Bivin added a quick bucket to start the third quarter scoring. Aidan Gowin’s four points allowed Lincoln to build a 32-13 lead with 3:05 left to play. Cook and Pollice added baskets to complete the scoring here and Lincoln was cruising past the Hearts, 36-21 the score. 

 

With Pollice, Bivin and Sasse working in the lane to score in the fourth quarter, the Railers quickly put away the Hearts with a final score of 42-29.

 

Payton Cook had a phenomenal game for Lincoln Friday night. The junior recorded a double-double. His 16 points and 16 rebounds led the Railers. 

 

Lincoln improved to 22-6 on the season. The Railers are 10-1 in the Apollo Conference. 

 

The JV suffered just their second loss of the season. Effingham won the JV contest 32-25. Leading-scorer Trey Schilling is currently out with a shoulder injury.

 

Drew Hayes led the JV team with 12 points. 

 

The JV record is now 20-2 on the season. 

 

Lincoln will play at East Peoria tonight. The JV game will start at 5 p.m. and the Varsity is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

 

Prior to the start of the Varsity game Friday night, Seniors in Band, Dance, Cheer and Basketball were recognized on Neil Alexander Court. Those students honored for their dedication were:

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Payton Cook on the DUNK...  pic by Cindy Bivin

Band

 

AnnaLisa Alley

Joe DiPasquale

Jazlyn Franz

Maura Gowin

Tyson Lile

Aiden Pollock

Nikos Poulos 

Gray Randall

Joshua Schleich

Keyton Schmalshof

Hieronymus Tice

Alaina Taylor

Lauren Worth

 

Dance 


Julia Guzzardo

Makayla Koehne

Abbi Montgomery

Alena Reed

 

Cheer

 

Autumn Dunovsky

Olivia Morrow

Brooklyn Summers

Chloe Vinyard

Sophia Yeazle

 

Basketball

 

Jaylen Conway

Jaden Klopp

Elijah Pollice 

 

Varsity scoring

 

Lincoln 42

 

Cook 16

Pollice 9

Gowin 8

Sasse 5

Bivin 4

 

Effingham 29

 

Estrada 9

Ritz 8

Pals 7

Wolfe 5

 

JV scoring

 

Lincoln 25

 

Hayes 12

Ki’on Carson 6

Stevens 5

Miller 2

 

Effingham 32

 

Atteberry 10

Splechter 8

Hull 6

Donaldson 5

Fox 2

Brown 1

[Teena Lowery]

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