Senators use strong second half to defeat depleted Railers, 47-32

 

[January 15, 2025]  SPRINGFIELD – For the first two quarters of its game Tuesday night at Springfield High, the Railer boys basketball team held its own.

Unfortunately for LCHS, the game consists of four quarters. The Senators used an 11-4 outburst in the third quarter to pull away after a 19-all halftime tie with Lincoln. Springfield defeated the Railers 47-32.

“It goes back with about two minutes to go in the second quarter,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said after the game. “We had a seven-point lead and we let them score the last seven points. You have to be able to close our halves.”

With 2:30 left in the second quarter, Brody Tungate intercepted a cross-court Senator pass and took it in for a layup to give Lincoln a 19-12 lead. But the Railers failed to score again for the remainder of the period, and when Springfield’s Elijah Wade hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining in the period, that knotted the score 19-19 at intermission.

The 7-0 run by the Senators was a precursor to a dismal third quarter for the Railsplitters. Karson Komnick drained a three-pointer from the top of the key on Lincoln’s first possession of the second half, but Springfield then scored nine unanswered points to build a 28-22 advantage on the way to a 30-23 lead at the end of the quarter.

Gabe Smith

While Lincoln continued to play hard and showed signs of life, the Railers just couldn’t put together a sustained effort defensively to stop Springfield’s offense. Railer Gabe Smith hit a pair of free throws to pull Lincoln closer at 41-32 with 1:46 remaining in the game, but the Senators hit free throws at key times down the stretch to put the game away. Springfield outscored the Railsplitters 17-9 in the final stanza and won 47-32.

“I thought in the first half we did a great job defensively,” Alexander said. “We didn’t hit our shots; we had open shots. Our offense wasn’t smooth, but we had open looks, and you’ve got to make those shots.”

One difference in the Railer offense against Springfield appeared to be the shot selection. While Lincoln has always had three-point shooting as a threat in its offensive arsenal, the Railers seemed to be shooting the trey a bit farther beyond the arc than in previous games.

Alexander said that was actually something the Railers are trying to work on.

Head Coach Neil Alexander

“We’re trying to extend the floor and step out and hit some shots a step behind the line,” Alexander said. “It’s hard to find a shot on the line. We’ve been trying to step out a little bit and hit those, but we got a little careless.”

Lincoln’s 32 points of offense in the game against Springfield is the team’s low-water mark this season. In their 16 games thus far this season, the Railers are averaging 45.6 points per game offensively while giving up 46.2 points per contest.

Karson Komnick

Komnick led Lincoln against Springfield with 10 points. Tungate added 7, Blake Horn and Smith had 6 apiece and Brady Miller tallied 3.

“You’ve got to be able to put the ball in the basket,” Alexander said. “It’s a struggle right now.”

Alexander implored his team to work on game shots at game speed in practices to help simulate the situations players face in actual competition.

“If you don’t practice game quickness in shots, when you get into a game, you’re shooting a totally different shot,” he said. ”And we do that a lot. [In practice] We don’t take it serious, where you take two or three hard dribbles and pull up my shot or step into it hard and elevate on my shot. [Instead it’s] ‘I want to catch and kind of find the seams,’ and it’s not going to happen in a ball game.”

Alexander added that solidifying fundamental skills can do nothing but help the Railers improve.

“We’ve got to be a better passing team,” Alexander said. “We spent a lot of time at the passing edge. That’s a basic fundamental: if you want to run good, smooth, clean offense, you’ve got to be able to pass the ball. It’s a fundamental that kids don’t like to do; they think it’s a waste of time. There’s an art to it.”

A depleted roster continues to hamper Alexander’s selection of players he can utilize in games. While Komnick continues to get stronger after his return following a three-week layoff with a wrist injury, Frank Sanders and Drew Hayes were still unavailable against the Senators.
 

Lincoln fell to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the Central State 8. Springfield improved to 11-9 and 4-2, respectively.

Springfield’s Elijah Wade led all players in scoring with 15 points. His brother Noah Wade added 11 for the Senators.

The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Railers as Lincoln hosts Lanphier on Friday in a 7 PM conference contest. The Railsplitters travel to Quincy on Saturday for a 7 PM game.

[Loyd Kirby | WLCN 96.3]