LINCOLN — Friday’s Class 3A Lincoln Area boys basketball championship game had more of a feel to both teams than previous games between Lincoln and Springfield high schools.
Springfield High coach Kevin Causley knows this, too. While he hopes to give Lincoln some trouble to change the 44-43 scoreline when the two teams meet at Roy S. Anderson Stadium on Dec. 20, he knows Sage Railroad coach Neil Alexander might have a few tricks up his sleeve.
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“Neil will pull a lot of tricks on you, and once you get comfortable, he’ll disrupt your plan again,” Causley said. “It changes your whole game plan, and that’s what a good coach does. I do think I’m better prepared, just from watching their film on what to expect from them personally.
“I think it’s going to be a better game for us and we’re going to be able to come up with a better game plan — just like them. They’re going to watch a lot of film; it’s going to be a chess game to see who can stay focused the whole game and do the right things the whole time.”
Second-seeded Lincoln beat Decatur Eisenhower 32-28 in a regional semifinal on Wednesday at the same Roy S. Anderson Gym, while third-seeded Springfield High set up for an all-Central States Eight Conference rematch with a 62-40 nightcap win over Mount Zion. The game starts at 7pm on Friday night.
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How did we get here?
No. 7 Eisenhower remained disciplined and patient against Lincoln’s zone defense, but was kept out of the paint most of the time due to Lincoln’s defensive focus. Although the Panthers finished with a 6-21 record, Marcus Paige connected on a missed three-pointer by Teveris Smith and put in a layup to make it 29-28 with 1:40 left in the game.
“They were hitting shots and we weren’t really trying hard to defend,” Lincoln senior guard Brody Tongate said. “When they got open shots, they knocked them down and then we didn’t respond.”
Lincoln’s Karson Komnick hit two free throws with 31.4 seconds left to give the Railroads a 30-28 lead, but Eisenhower committed a turnover with 4.5 seconds left and was forced to foul Tongate, who made two free throws to seal the victory and eventually became the game’s leading scorer with 13 points. Komnick scored 11 points as Lincoln improved to 25-7.
Lincoln’s Brody Tongate drives the ball down the court against Decatur Eisenhower on Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Tungate said the team’s focus is on preventing Page from dominating in the post.
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“That’s our plan: stop the big guys (Page is a 6-foot-5 center), rebound and push the ball,” Tongaert said. “We didn’t really bounce back that hard, but we stopped good in the middle.”
Lincoln’s largest lead was just seven points, and that lead came on two Tongaat free throws late in the third quarter. Eisenhower hit two 3-pointers by Kamari Dennis in the fourth quarter to pull within 27-26 with 4:47 left. Komnik broke through the baseline for a layup midway through the final quarter, giving the Railroad a three-point advantage. Tongate also had a baseline breakthrough layup in the middle of the third quarter.
“That’s what I’m good at,” Tongate said. “When I get to the basket, it’s hard to stop me. I also made some three-pointers today, which helped me (two in the first half). Maybe I’ll continue to do that.”
Although the focus was on Page, he still led the Panthers by 10 points. Dennis Henderson and Garion Henderson each scored nine points.
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crush the senator
Springfield’s Elijah Wade scores during a game against Mount Zion during the Class 3A Lincoln Regional semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at Roy S. Anderson Stadium in Lincoln.
Sixth-ranked Mount Zion trailed by double digits early in the second quarter when Springfield High senior Logan Peach hit his second of three 3-pointers. SHS outscored Mount Zion 9-0 early in the second half to extend the Senators’ lead to 18 points (35-17). Despite first-quarter foul calls from SHS brothers Elijah and Noah Wade, Mount Zion (10-21) couldn’t get off the mark.
“Luckily, we have depth, we have guys that we can bring in, rotation players that can fit into any role,” Causley said after his first career playoff win. “We’re very intentional about mixing up our rotation so there’s some connection in terms of what units we can bring in so guys can mix and match and there’s not a real drop-off. We’re fortunate that we have some depth and some of the things we did in practice this week can be replicated.”
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The win marked Springfield High School’s first 20-win season since the 2009-10 team went 20-8. The Senators (20-12) haven’t won 21 games in a season since 1997-98. Causley knows it will take a monumental effort to get there.
“We learned a lot about yourselves (against Lincoln in December),” Causley said. “In Game 1, we were without three starters in the first and second quarters. We’re learning how to win and fix some issues with the culture.
“Now, we still have a ways to go, but I think that helps us – some of the struggles we’ve had to go through throughout the season have helped prepare us for what we’re going to be facing on Friday. It’s going to be rowdy.”
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Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.comTwitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared in the State Journal-Register: IHSA boys basketball: Springfield High cruises, Lincoln ekes out 3A win
