Railers capture first Regional
Title in five seasons, advances to Sectional Semifinal by defeating
Taylorville 38-23
[March 01, 2025]
SPRINGFIELD – Karson Komnick led all scorers with 19 points
as the LCHS Railer basketball team claimed its first regional title
in five years by defeating Taylorville 38-23 in the IHSA regional
championship game held at Southeast High School.
The win moved Lincoln’s season record to 23-10, but more
importantly, the victory allows the Railers to advance in postseason
play. LCHS will face Mt. Zion in one semifinal game of the Decatur
Eisenhower sectional tournament on March 5 at 7 PM. Mt. Zion
advanced by winning its own regional in defeating Mahomet-Seymour
66-45.
Karson Komnick
Lincoln took the early lead against Taylorville when Komnick hit a
three-pointer to open the scoring. The Tornadoes tied the contest a
couple minutes later on a trey by Drake Howard, but a Frank Sanders
field goal and a conventional three-point play by Komnick extended
the Railer lead to 8-3 with less than three minutes left in the
opening quarter.
But to their credit, the Tornadoes stormed back, as Blake Ladage hit
a field goal to trim the Railer lead to three. Komnick then hit his
second three-pointer of the game, but Taylorville inched closer when
Howard hit a trey of his own, slicing Lincoln’s lead at the end of
the period to 11-8.
While the second quarter was more of a defensive battle. the scoring
ebbed back and forth; the Railers outscore Taylorville 7-6 in the
frame to take an 18-14 lead at halftime.
The third quarter opened with the Railers missing a couple shots,
turning the ball over and then missing again. After Coach Alexander
called a timeout following a short Ladage field goal to cut the
Lincoln lead to two points, the Railers picked up their intensity.
Komnick hit a shot in the lane, then Gabe Smith stole the ball 10
seconds later and hit a layup to increase Lincoln’s advantage.
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The LCHS offensive outburst prompted Taylorville coach Ryan Brown to
take a timeout. Unfortunately for him, the strategy didn’t derail
the Railer offense, as Sanders hit a putback shot before Brody
Tungate stole the ball and hit the ensuing layup. Komnick sank three
of four free throws assessed during the next couple Railer
possessions. By the time Ladage hit a field goal for the Tornadoes
with just over two minutes remaining in the period, Lincoln had
reeled off 11 straight points and built its lead to 29-18 heading
into the fourth quarter. Taylorville could get no closer than 10
points, as Komnick hit three of four free throws down the stretch in
scoring five fourth-quarter points to send the Railers to the
sectional tournament with a 38-23 win over the Tornadoes.
Komnick led all players with 19 points. Hayes added seven and Frank
Sanders scored four points to go along with six rebounds. Tungate
added 4 points, and Gabe Smith and Blake Horn added two points each.
In addition to the Lincoln-Mt. Zion matchup in the Eisenhower
sectional, Champaign Central will face Glenwood on March 4 in the
other semifinal contest. Central beat MacArthur 60-54 to win the
Champaign Centennial regional, while Glenwood topped Lanphier 43-39
in the Lanphier regional title game.
The winners of the two Eisenhower sectional semifinal contests will
play for the sectional championship on March 7 for the chance to
advance to the super-sectional game March 10 at the BOS Center in
Springfield.
The 2024-25 regional title is the 56th in school history and the
19th for the Railers under head coach Neil Alexander. The regional
championship is Lincoln’s first since the 2019-20 season, which was
halted due to the COVID-19 virus. The Railer squad of that year
never got the chance to play in a sectional tournament, as the
entire season ended March 13, 2020—the evening of Lincoln’s
scheduled opening game against Lanphier as sectional tournament
host.
[Loyd Kirby]
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