Lincoln falls to Decatur Eisenhower 46-43

[January 31, 2022] The Railers were in Decatur Saturday night to visit Eisenhower and it was the Panthers pulling off the surprise and defeating Lincoln 46-43.

The Panthers sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter. Tyler Sasse’s buckets made the score 5-4 but the Panthers wasted no time sinking back-to-back threes and extending the lead to 11-4. Thanks to some outstanding defense by the Panthers and a bit of a careless first quarter by the Railers, Eisenhower took a 17-6 lead with just a minute left to play. A three-point play by Jake Bivin trimmed the lead to 17-9 as the first quarter ended.

Neither team scored over the first four minutes of the second quarter. Aidan Gowin would be the first player to finally sink a basket. Gowin’s three around the 3:50 mark closed the gap to 17-12. A jumper by Camden Nelson brought the Railers even closer, 17-15 the score. Unfortunately for the Railers, the two-point deficit would be the closest score in the first half. By the time halftime was reached, the Panthers held a 24-17 lead.

The Panthers increased the lead to 27-17 quickly into the third quarter on a three. One steal and fast break later, the Panthers were on top 29-17. Pollice and Gowin would connect for back-to-back threes on offense for Lincoln and the Railers trailed 29-23 with 4:40 left in the quarter. The Panthers continued to keep the Railers just out of reach, despite a couple points in the paint by Payton Cook, and with that the third quarter came to a close with Eisenhower in the lead 36-29.

Cook and Sasse scored Lincoln’s first two buckets in the fourth quarter, but the Railers were still chasing the Panthers, who held a 38-34 lead at the 5:47 mark. Again the Railers had the game within their grasp as the one minute mark was approaching, with the Panthers lead just 40-36. A basket by Bivin with 34.6 seconds left made the score 42-38. After two free throws by Cook with 15.2 seconds on the clock, the score was 42-40 in favor of Eisenhower. Five seconds later an intentional foul was called on Cook during Eisenhower’s possession and with the Panthers making the foul shots and getting the ball back, Lincoln found themselves down 44-40. Fouls and free throws were on the agenda in the final seconds and despite a three from Pollice with 2.7 seconds left, the Railers just fell short and out of time. The final score was 46-43.

Payton Cook led Lincoln with 12 points. 

Lincoln falls to 18-5 on the season. 

Decatur Eisenhower improved to 9-14 on the season.

The Railers JV team defeated Eisenhower 56-27 as Trey Schilling poured in a team-leading 16 points. Ki’on Carson and Jude Toft each tallied 11 points for Lincoln. 

The Lincoln JV team improved their record to 16-1 on the season. 

Lincoln will play at Effingham tonight. The JV game will start at 5:30 p.m. The Varsity game will tip-off at 7 p.m.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 43

Cook 12

Bivin 9

Sasse 7

Pollice 6

Gowin 6

Nelson 3

Eisenhower 46

Jenkins 17

Mann 9

Jackson 8

Rainer 4

Green 3

Cunningham 3

Sonar 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 56

Schilling 16

Ki’on Carson 11

Toft 11

Miller 8

Evers 6

Stevens 2

Dahmm 2

Eisenhower 27

Bracey 10

Smith 6

Cooper 4

Robinson 3

Rawls 2

Bell 2

[Teena Lowery]