The Forester men's basketball team hosted and defeated Illinois
College 88-74 on Saturday (February 20) to finish the regular
season with a 14-9 overall record and 12-4 mark in Midwest
Conference play. It was Lake Forest's eighth consecutive victory,
the team's longest winning streak closing out 1999-2000 with 11 in
a row. The Blueboys fell to 12-11 overall and 8-8 in the
league.
Sophomore post player Travis Clark
(Evanston, Ill./Evanston) became the fourth player in Lake Forest
College history to make as many as 12 field goals in a game without
a miss. He led all scorers with 25 points in just 24 minutes and
added seven rebounds and three assists.
Freshman guard Jeff Beck
(Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) was next on the squad with 17 points
and he chipped in with six rebounds and three assists. Senior guard
Victor
Campbell (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and sophomore
forward Nate Bateman
(Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) added 14 points apiece and
combined with Beck to shoot 9-for-17 from three-point range.
Bateman also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a
career-high seven assists.
The program's career assist record is in jeopardy as senior forward
Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) added to his
single-season record total with seven more on Saturday. He now has
132 assists this year and 334 in his career, three off the mark set
by Lee Taylor in 2003. Hanley also pulled down seven rebounds,
recorded four steals, and blocked a pair of shots in the game.
Lake Forest shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half and
55.9 percent in the game. The Foresters reached double figures in
three-pointers made (10) for the third time in the last six games.
The home team out-rebounded Illinois College 44-25 to increase its
rebound margin on the season to +10.3 per game, which ranks among
the top five marks in the nation.
The game was close before a 13-4 Forester run late in the opening
period gave the home team a 44-34 advantage. The Blueboys pulled to
within five points before Clark closed out the half with
back-to-back baskets, making the score 48-39 in favor of Lake
Forest.
Another basket by Clark and a pair of three-pointer by Beck to
start the second half extended the margin to 17 points and the
Foresters led by at least 11 the rest of the way.
Hanley, Campbell, and fellow senior Jaron Eanes
(Cleveland, Ohio/ Lake Forest Academy) were honored before the
final home game of their careers.
Lake Forest had already clinched the #2 seed in next weekend's
(February 26-27) MWC Tournament, which will be hosted by league
champion St. Norbert College. The Foresters will take on Carroll
University in Friday's first semifinal at 1:30 p.m. A live video
webcast of the game will be available at
pennatlantic.com. Saturday's final is
scheduled for 3:00 p.m.