9 games which define Neil Alexander's Lincoln basketball career

With 51 seasons coaching high school boys basketball and nearly 1,000 wins under his belt, Lincoln coach Neil Alexander’s teams sure have produced an abundance of memorable games.

Alexander, in his 36th season with the Railers, has won 10 Central State Eight Conference titles, five sectional titles and four state tournament appearances. His best finish in the postseason came in the Railers’ 34-3 season that culminated in a Class 3A runner-up trophy in 2014.

Here is a look at nine games that will be part of Alexander’s coaching lore at Lincoln High School.

Lincoln 40, Mattoon 35 (Jan. 28, 2022)

Alexander became the second coach in Illinois boys basketball history to get his 900th win when senior Elijah Pollice led scored 11 points to lead the Railers to a come-from-behind win at Mattoon. Sophomore Aiden Gowin and junior forward Jake Bivin had eight points apiece. After the game, assistant coach Gregg Alexander said of his dad, “It’s a lot of time, but he does it because he enjoys the teams and the kids. They make it all worth it, so it’s easy to come to practice when you’ve got the kids who want to work hard and be a part of it. But it is good to see him reach that milestone.” Neil Alexander added of his veteran coaching staff, “Sometimes I feel guilty that those guys are doing a lot, a lot of work and I get the credit. But we all work together as a team. We all talk things out and discuss things, that’s what makes the whole thing work.”

Lincoln 45, Chicago Harlan 25 (Jan. 6, 2018)

The night of win No. 792 came the same night as the Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium was packed as the school named the court for Alexander. Titus Cannon, who along with Ben Grunder led the Railers with 12 points apiece in the win, said, “This is huge. We needed this one just to honor him for what he’s done for us and the people in this town.” With the win, Alexander tied longtime Collinsville coach Vergil Fletcher with his 792nd career win and moved into fifth place among boys basketball coaches in the state. That upped Alexander’s record to 623-214 in 27 seasons at Lincoln.

Lincoln 67, Sacred Heart-Griffin 40 (Dec. 18, 2015)

Alexander’s 750th career win came with the help of a 21-0 third-quarter run as the Railers zipped past another coaching legend, Carey McVickers, and his Cyclones. SHG was within 10 points at halftime, but Lincoln’s 3-point shooting beat SHG’s man-to-man defense time and time again. The ‘Splitters were Lincoln 26-for-39 (66.7%) from the floor, including an incredible 11-for-19 from behind the 3-point line. Senior Aron Hopp led Lincoln with 20 points, senior Garrett Aeilts had 15 on five of seven 3s and sophomore Isaiah Bowers provided 11 points.

Lincoln 45, Rockford Lutheran 42 (March 21, 2014) 

Lincoln punched its first-ever ticket to the state championship game through its suffocating defense. A veteran corps featuring then-seniors Max Cook, Edward Bowlby, Joey Olden, Tyler Horchem and future Ohio University player Gavin Block limited Lutheran to just five points in the fourth quarter and totaled 12 steals, including eight in the second half. Then-junior guard Payton Ebelherr twice poked the ball away with less than a minute left to preserve a one-possession lead. The Railsplitters lost a third-quarter lead the next day, losing 59-49 to Chicago Morgan Park in the Class 3A state final, but set a school record with 34 wins. 

Lincoln 90, Lanphier 72 (Feb. 4, 2011) 

Then-senior Jordan Nelson earned the sobriquet ‘Air Jordan’ by The State Journal-Register with a school record 48 points at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. He had 21 points by the fourth quarter and ended up eclipsing Chuck Verderber’s previous record of 44 points against Danville in 1977 via the free throw line. He finished 14 of 16 from the charity stripe. “My teammates did a great job finding me,” Nelson told the SJ-R. “I give them all the credit in the world, and getting fouled at the end, it’s been a touchy game all game. I just tried to keep it in my hands, and I got it.” Nelson won CS8 Player of the Year and finished third all-time in scoring behind Gregg Alexander and Chuck Verderber. 

Lincoln 50, Peoria Richwoods 44 (March 13, 2007) 

Then-seniors Matt Schick and Brandon Farmer combined for 32 points to overcome an early 14-point deficit and return to the Class AA state tournament in Peoria for a second season in the last three years. Lincoln grabbed a permanent lead in the third quarter on a Farmer steal and Schick layup. Another senior, Josh Sutton, also delivered three critical 3s. Schick, Farmer and Sutton were each named to the all-CS8 team. Farmer was announced as the CS8 Player of the Year for a second straight season. Schick departed with most games played, with 132 over his career. In the quarterfinals, Lincoln fell to Chicago Marshall 60-51 in what was the final year of the two-class system. 

Lincoln 58, Southeast 48 (Jan. 13, 2006)

The Railers got Alexander his 500th career victory in his 16th season at Lincoln. Alexander, who also coached at Joy Westmer, Monmouth Yorkwood and Bushnell-Prairie City in a career that started in 1976, said No. 500 just meant, “That’s what happens when you get old and I’m old.” In that game, Lincoln was led by Brandon Farmer’s game-high 22 points while teammates Matt Schick added 14 points and Jacob Carey had 10. Farmer and Schick helped break the Southeast defense down in the first half, finishing with 12 points each and a combined 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. Southeast coach Rick Montooth told The State Journal-Register, “The problem on defense was that the kids want to help and shooting 3s for Lincoln is like shooting layups for them. We could not get the defense to understand that we’d rather give up the 2 than the 3.”

Lincoln 47, Washington 46 (March 15, 2005) 

Matt Schick, then just a sophomore, ultimately hit the game-winning shot with over a minute left to vault the Railers to their first state appearance since 1999. Lincoln also set an IHSA record for most 3s in a season that has since been trumped by several teams, including Lincoln’s 2014 state runner-up team. Senior John Harmsen, who was proclaimed CS8 Player of the Year, shattered the school record for most 3s in a season that same game, too — a record that still stands at 113. Lincoln led by as much as 15 points in the third quarter and withstood a furious comeback from future Indiana University player Matt Roth, who finished with 25 points. The Railers then fell 51-40 to Rockford Jefferson in the Class AA quarterfinals in Peoria. 

Lincoln 54, Peoria Manual 50 (March 16, 1999) 

Brian Cook, a future Big Ten Conference Player of the Year at University of Illinois, generated 19 points and 15 rebounds to catapult Lincoln to its first state appearance since 1980. The Railers, also featuring Neil Alexander’s son and Lincoln’s eventual all-time leading scorer Gregg Alexander, only trailed 7-5 in the first quarter before holding onto the win with the 6-11 Cook flustering the Rams. “I tried to take the ball game into my hands,” Cook told The State Journal-Register. “I knew I could shoot over them since their tallest guy was 6-4.” Cook was named CS8 Player of the Year, an award Alexander would garner the next two seasons (sharing with Lanphier’s Richard McBride in 2001). Cook won even larger prestigious awards, including Mr. Basketball of Illinois, averaging 21.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Lincoln was eliminated in the Class AA quarterfinals 59-43 by Gurnee Warren. Coach Alexander also won his first outright CS8 title that season.

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR. Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: 9 games which define Neil Alexander’s Lincoln basketball career

Reporting by Ryan Mahan and Bill Welt, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register

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