Alexander earns career win no. 950 as Railers run past Mattoon 52-36

 

[January 27, 2024]  Lincoln –Teams of Railer head coach Neil Alexander are known for an aggressive 1-2-2 zone press, so it was only fitting that the Lincoln defense figure prominently in Win No. 950 of his career.

LCHS allowed only 4 first-quarter points in racing out to a 15-4 advantage. Alexander was able to utilize his bench, with 10 different players playing at least 9 minutes and 9 players scoring as the Railers coasted to a 52-36 nonconference win over Mattoon.

Coach Neil Alexander

“We were able to work on some things,” Alexander said after the contest. “Guys that practice every day, they deserve a little bit of time if not equal time, but that’s not going to happen; that’s just the nature of the beast. But if you can get guys that come to practice every day, they work hard, they sacrifice an awful lot. Those guys are the ones that really make your team what it is. They’re the unsung heroes, so it was good to get them on the court.”

Gabe Smith

Gabe Smith returned after missing two games due to illness and made his presence known early, scoring the first basket for the Railers. Mattoon evened the score before Smith struck again to begin an 11-0 run to extend the Lincoln lead to 13-2 with Smith, Ki’on Carson, Trey Schilling and Frank Sanders all tallying points for the Railers. Following another Mattoon field goal, Sanders scored the last points of the quarter on a field goal to give the Railers a 15-4 advantage.

Lincoln widened its lead thanks to a 13-2 run to begin the second period. Karson Komnick hit a 3-pointer for the first Railer points of the quarter before Aidan Gowin fueled the Railer scoring barrage, scoring 8 of the next 10 points. Gowin ended the stanza with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, sinking 3 3-pointers along with 2-point field goal.

Ki’on Carson closed the first half with the most memorable shot of the game, sinking a long shot following a steal just beyond midcourt, but officials ruled the buzzer sounded before Carson released the ball, nullifying the 3-point basket as Lincoln held a 31-11 halftime lead.

The Railers extended their lead to 28 when Trey Schilling hit a 3-pointer to give Lincoln a 43-15 advantage. LCHS could not stretch the lead to 30 to get a running clock the fourth quarter. Instead, Mattoon crept closer on the strength of a 10-1 run to close the third quarter and make the score 44-25. The Railers did not help themselves in the remainder of the stanza, committing 4 of their 9 turnovers in the game during the final 2:42 of the period while missing all three shots Lincoln took from the field during that span.

With both coaches substituting freely through the fourth quarter, Mattoon outscored the Railers 11-8 in the period for the final 52-36 score.

Lincoln continued its improved shooting as of late, making 21 of 43 field goals (48.8 percent) while hitting 30 percent (6 of 20) 3-pointers. The Railer defense continued to perform well, garnering 13 steals as Mattoon turned the ball over 25 times.

Aidan Gowin

Gowin led Lincoln with 13 points. Smith totalled 8, Schilling and Drew Hayes chipped in with 7 apiece, Sanders scored 6, Kani Carson contributed 4, Komnick tallied 3 and Ki’on Carson and Brady Miller added 2 points each.

Bryce Jean led Mattoon with 13 points.

Lincoln improved to 17-7 on the season.

The Railers square off against another former Apollo Conference foe tomorrow when they travel to Taylorville for a 4:30 PM contest.

[Loyd Kirby]