After honoring its seven seniors before their final regular season home game, the Lake Forest College men's basketball team hosted and defeated Knox College 64-50 Wednesday night. The Forester seniors combined for 40 points, 28 rebounds, and 10 assists in the contest.
Lake Forest senior forward Travis Clark led all players in the game with 20 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. He also blocked a shot and recorded two steals.
Junior point guard Jeff Beck was the only other Forester in double figures with 11 points and he added five rebounds.
The home team shot just 38.5 percent from the field but held Knox to only 31.6 percent. Neither team shot well from three-point range, combining to make just seven of 42 attempts. Lake Forest shot 10-for-11 and the Prairie Fire made 11 of 15 tries from the foul line. The Foresters had a slight 41-39 edge in rebounds and committed just eight turnovers to Knox's 13.
The game was tied at 21 after 12 minutes of play before a 12-0 run by the Foresters put them ahead for good. A layup by Clark at the buzzer gave the home team a 37-23 advantage at halftime.
The margin remained in double figures but never exceeded 17 points during the second half.
Clark and fellow seniors Dayton Young, Chris Roets, David Pilalis, Drew Grennell, Don Duncan, and Nate Bateman exited the game one-at-a-time to a large ovation during the final two minutes of the contest.
Lake Forest posted the first 20-win season in program history and has lost just twice. The Foresters also raised their Midwest Conference record to 16-1. Knox fell to 3-19 overall and 2-15 in the league.
MWC Commissioner Chris Graham was on hand to present the conference championship trophy after the game.
The Foresters, who are ranked second in the NCAA Division III Midwest Region will close out the regular season at Grinnell College Saturday at 3:00 p.m. They will then host the 2012 MWC Tournament the following weekend and play in the first semifinal Friday evening at 5:00. The other semifinal will follow at 7:30 and the tournament final will be played Saturday afternoon at 3:00.
