The Forester men's basketball team defeated Beloit College 63-49 at home on Saturday for the team's third victory in as many games during the week. Lake Forest junior post player Travis Clark scored 18 points, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, and dished out a team-high six assist in the contest.
Clark made half of his 12 field goal attempts and shot 6-for-7 from the foul line. He also blocked a shot and recorded a pair of steals in a team-high 31 minutes of play.
Sophomore guard Jeff Beck efficiently matched Clark's team-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 5-5 from the line. Junior guard Chris Roets, after making six three-pointers Friday night, shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points.
Lake Forest posted a higher shooting percentage than its opponent for the ninth time in 13 games this season, knocking down 41.7 percent of field goals to Beloit's 33.3. The Foresters also had a significant edge from the free throw line where they shot 19-for-24 while the visitors made just five of 11. The home team had a 39-34 advantage in rebounds and committed 11 of the game's 21 turnovers.
Beloit led by as many as five points in the first half before a 15-4 run put the Foresters ahead for good. Beck was 5-for-5 from the floor in the period, which ended with the home team leading 33-28.
Clark scored six points in the first two minutes of the second half and a Beck three-pointer with 16:22 to play extended the lead to 12. The Buccaneers pulled to within six points on two occasions but would get no closer. Clark assisted on a pair of Roets three-pointers during an 8-0 run that spanned more than five minutes of gametime and put the game out of reach.
The Foresters are now 7-6 overall and 5-3 in Midwest Conference play. Beloit fell to 4-9 overall and 3-5 in the league.
Lake Forest will play a pair of MWC road games in Wisconsin next weekend. The Foresters will play at St. Norbert College at 7:30 Friday night and at Ripon College at 4:00 the following afternoon. Live video webcasts of both contests will be available at www.pennatlantic.com.