The Lake Forest College men's basketball team was defeated 57-33 at the University of Illinois-Chicago in an exhibition game Tuesday night. Forester senior post player Travis Clark led all players in the contest with 16 points and four steals.
Clark, the program's career leader with a .650 field goal percentage, shot 8-for-12 from the floor on Tuesday and also led the visitors with seven rebounds.
Junior guard Jeff Beck was next on the team with seven points and added three steals and three assists.
Lake Forest shot just 26 percent from the field and made only two of 19 shots from three-point range. The Flames shot 42 percent from the floor and 4-for-12 from beyond the arc. Rebounds were even (22-22) in the first half but the home team pulled down 21 boards to the Foresters' eight in the second period.
The free throw by Illinois-Chicago two-and-a-half minutes into the game was the contest's first point. The Foresters took their first lead of the contest on a traditional three-point play by junior guard Brad Johnstin a little over a minute later and a layup by Clark with 15:32 to play in the period gave Lake Forest its final lead of the game at 5-4. The Flames scored the next seven points but the visitors battled back and tied the game at 18 on a tip-in by Clark with 6:03 on the clock. The home team scored the next five points and led 25-20 at halftime.
The Flames opened the second half with a 12-0 run and never looked back.
Lake Forest will open the regular season at home next Tuesday against Edgewood College. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m.