Railer boys basketball team opens
with a 57-51 come-from-behind win over Champaign Centennia
[November 26, 2025]
If the first game of the year for the Railsplitter boys
basketball team is any indication, fans are in for an exciting
season ahead.
With 3:48 remaining in the game, the Railers took their first lead—a
lead they never relinquished—and held on to defeat a sharp-shooting
Champaign Centennial team, 57-51, to open their season and the Eaton
Electrical Thanksgiving Tournament with a win.
“In the fourth quarter, at 0:00 [the clock reading on the
scoreboard], we were ahead,” said Lincoln head coach Neil Alexander
after the contest. “That’s all that matters.”
Lincoln fell behind early thanks to some stellar marksmanship by the
Chargers as Centennial hit its first three shots from the field.
Isaiah Allen and Sherrod Clark each hit a trey and J.J. Lewandowski
hit a two-pointer to propel Centennial to an 8-0 lead.
Brody Tungate
But as it did all game, Lincoln hung around and kept the game close
for the majority of the game. The Railers got their first points of
the year when Brody Tungate hit a three-pointer, but Clark answered
with a three-ball for Centennial to push the lead back to eight
points.
LCHS got consecutive buckets from Brett Hayes and Tungate before
Allen made another three-pointer for Centennial to widen the Charger
lead to 14-7. Lincoln senior Karson Komnick scored the final four
points of the quarter on a pair of free throws and a field goal to
make the score 14-11 in favor of Centennial.
The guests outscored Lincoln 12-7 in the second frame to give the
Chargers a 26-18 lead at halftime. Tungate and Komnick each hit a
field goal and Tate Aue scored on a three-pointer for the Railers in
the period.
The third quarter had an ebb and flow feel to it much like a prize
fight, with one boxer throwing a punch and starting to take an
advantage before the opponent answered back. Lincoln scored the
first five points of the stanza to make the score 26-23. Centennial
made a free throw to push the lead to four points before Lincoln got
a two-pointer from Komnick to whittle the lead to two points. But
just as the Railers had the momentum and it felt like they were
poised to grab the lead, Centennial got a big three-pointer from
Clark to swell the Chargers’ advantage to four points.
And so it went, back and forth throughout the period, Lincoln would
cut into the Chargers’ lead several times during the quarter but
could never tie the game nor take the lead; just as it seemed the
Railers found their footing and were on the cusp of taking the lead,
Centennial would hit a shot (or two or three) and widen the gap to
quiet the home crowd in attendance at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium.
When the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter, Lincoln had
outscored the Chargers 17-11 in the frame to pull closer; Centennial
led 39-35.
Tate Aue
One minute into the fourth quarter, Aue hit a big three-pointer for
the Railers to pull them to within one point at 39-38. But Clark
quieted the raucous Railer faithful with two consecutive
three-pointers of his own, pushing the Centennial lead to 45-38. A
pair of Tungate baskets made the contest a single-possession game at
45-42, but another Centennial three-pointer—this one from
Allen—increased the Charger lead back to six points at 48-42.
[to top of second column] |
At this point, it seemed a switch flipped in the collective Railer
consciousness. The team had played hard all night and managed to
battle back each time it appeared Centennial was poised to put the
game out of reach for Lincoln. This time, it was Lincoln that
positioned itself to put the game out of reach for the Chargers. The
Railsplitters reeled off the next 13 consecutive points to give
Lincoln a 55-48 advantage, taking their first lead of the game with
just 3:48 remaining in the contest. Komnick had eight points during
the 13-point run with Aue adding three and Tungate contributing two.
Allen hit three free throws to make the score 55-51, but Tungate
finished the scoring and iced the game with a pair of free throws
with 12 seconds remaining. Lincoln outscored Centennial 22-12 in the
quarter to make the final score 57-51.
Karson Komnick
Tungate led Lincoln with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the
field. Komnick, who missed much of the second quarter due to
bleeding after sustaining a cut above his eye, notched a
double-double for the Railers, scored 20 by hitting 6 of 14 shots
from the field while leading Lincoln by grabbing 11 rebounds. Aue
also scored in double-digits, added 12 points for the Railers on
4-of-9 shooting from the field with all his shots coming from beyond
the three-point line. Brett Hayes added one basket for two points to
round out the Railer scoring.
Centennial was led by Clark with 22 and Allen with 17. The duo
combined to hit 10 of 25 attempts on three-pointers.
While Alexander was pleased with the performance from Komnick and
Tungate, he said his squad will need other scoring options to
emerge.
“We can’t rely on those two doing what they did tonight,” he said of
Komnick and Tungate. “If we do that, we’re going to end up seeing
some things we don’t want to see. I think we’ve got other shooters.”
Overall, Alexander said he liked the resilience his team showed
after trailing most of the game, including an 11-point deficit in
the second quarter.
“We didn’t give up,” Alexander said. “We could’ve given up. There
was a couple times we got down 10 points and the guys just kept
fighting. There for a while, we would get within what…3, 4
[points]….and then boom, they [the Chargers] would just shoot it
back up to 8 or 9, and we would just chip away.
“And then once we got the lead, we didn’t give it up. I’m really
proud of the kids.”
The victory gives Lincoln a 1-0 record overall as well as in pool
play in the Eaton Electrical Thanksgiving Tournament. Following the
results of games played in the tournament Monday and Tuesday,
Lincoln has the only unblemished mark in the Green Pool of the
tournament. Danville and Centennial are each 1-1 and Chicago Dunbar
is 0-1.
Cahokia sits atop the Red Pool at 2-0 followed by Belleville West at
1-1. Mt. Zion and Springfield each at 0-1.
Results for Monday and Tuesday in the tournament were:
• Cahokia 59, Mt. Zion 42
• Belleville West 52, Springfield 45
• Champaign Centennial 72, Belleville West 56
• Danville 55, Chicago Dunbar 49
• Lincoln 57, Champaign Centennial 51
• Cahokia 67, Belleville West 56
Games scheduled for Wednesday include:
• 5:30 PM – Springfield vs. Mt. Zion
• 7 PM – Lincoln vs. Chicago Dunbar
[Loyd Kirby]
|
