Cass Scores 12 Points: Warriors Fall to Railers in Holiday Classic Opener

Coach optimistic about team progress despite loss, focusing on upcoming consolation bracket opportunities.

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Dec 28, 2025 1:06 PM

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COLLINSVILLE - Javier Cass led Granite City with 12 points, as the Warriors held Lincoln to 14 points in the first half, and one in the second quarter. But several turnovers proved to be costly, especially in the second half, as the Railsplitters outscored the Warriors in the second half 32-23 to win their first round game in the Collinsville Prairie Farms boys basketball Holiday Classic Saturday night at Vergil Fletcher Gym.

The loss relegated Granite to the consolation bracket of the tournament, where they'll meet Rockford East Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the auxiliary gym at Collinsville High. The Warriors did put on a very spirited comeback in the fourth quarter, twice cutting the lead to five points, but in the end, free-throw shooting by the Railers proved to be a big difference, along with making the plays they needed to at the end.

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Granite City head coach Gerard Moore said that Lincoln made free throws and did things to disrupt his team offensively, but turnovers in the game were the difference.

"It really came down to us turning the ball over 13 times, and those key turnovers they scored off us really hurt us. They had 13 turnovers, and many of those were wide-open lay-ups at the other end, and you just can't have that against a team like Lincoln. My hope was that we really needed to make some shots; we didn't do a good job of shooting the ball tonight.

"We were five-of-19 from the three-point line. You've just got to shoot a little bit better to give you a chance to win, and we were 14-of-38 from the field. You're not going to win many games if you shoot it like that, and I attribute that to Lincoln's defense and our youth at the guard position. Our guys are getting better; they're doing a great job for me, playing hard.

"We held them to 14 points in the first half," Moore continued. "The kids fought really well, but the mistakes we made were just young and inexperienced. We're going to learn from it. I think this is a really good team I have here, for sure, we've just got to be ready to play tomorrow."

The Warriors can still do well in the consolation bracket of the tournament, and Moore knows now that's where his club will concentrate on.

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"The aim is now to try to get fifth place," Moore said, "so, now, we're going to have to take care of business at 2:30 tomorrow; it may be (Decatur) MacArthur or Rockford East. So, we have to be ready to play, and ready to play the next one tomorrow evening. I think we've got a good shot of winning those games, and hopefully, we can be in the fifth-place game and win that."

Moore also had a special word for Railers coach Neil Alexander, the longtime Lincoln coach who's one of the winningest coaches in Illinois high school basketball history.

"The kids played hard," Moore said. "I love going against Neil Alexander. He's one of the greats of our game. If you know basketball, you know Neil, and how many wins, and the things he does there at Lincoln. It's just an honor to play against him. I wish we had come out on the better end of the stick, but, hey, it's a great experience for our guys, and hopefully, moving forward, we can get something out of this."

The Railers opened the game on a 7-0 run, as Karson Komnick hit twice, and Brody Tumgate sank a three to put Lincoln up, forcing a Granite timeout. Evan Brewer hit the Warriors' first basket, but Lincoln, behind the shooting of Tumgate, went on to take a 13-6 edge after the first quarter. The Warrior defense helped Granite get back into the game, allowing only a free throw by the Railers, while good shooting by Antonio Dean and Cass allowed Granite to catch up, with Brewer hitting the shot that lifted the Warriors to a 14-14 tie at halftime.

A free throw by Lincoln broke the tie at the outset of the second half, with a Cass free throw retying the game at 15-15. From there, after a 17-17 tie, Lincoln went on a 6-0 run, with Komnick leading the way, to take the Railers into a 23-17 lead. Lincoln extended the advantage to 28-23 after the third quarter, and in the fourth, went ahead 37-23, but back came the Warriors, as Xavier Harris and Brewer helped cut the lead to 39-34 in a spirited comeback. The Railers made their free throws to keep Granite at bay, and came away with the 46-37 win.

Tumgate led Lincoln with 21 points, while Komnick had 17 points, Tate Auer had four points, and both Bryce Vlahovich and Brett Hayes had two points each. Cass led the Warriors with 12 points, while Brewer had 11 points, Harris scored six points, Dean scored five points, and Tyler Moore had three points.

Lincoln is now 10-2, and meets MacArthur, a 76-44 winner over Rockford East, in the quarterfinals Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m, with the winner going to the semifinals Sunday night against the winner of Triad and Collinsville in a 7:30 p.m. tip. The Warriors are now 8-4, and meet the E-Rabs in the consolation bracket at 2:30 p.m. in the auxiliary gym, with the winner playing the winner of Belleville Althoff Catholic and Quincy Sunday at 9 p.m. The championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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