The Lake Forest College men's basketball team was defeated 69-67 in overtime by visiting Cornell College on Saturday, despite a career-high 34 points by senior guard Jeff Beck.
Beck shot 12-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 form three-point range, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. He also led the home team with seven rebounds and four assists and added a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Brian Madson was the only other Forester in double figures with 11 points.
Shooting percentages on the evening were fairly even, with the Rams' 44.6 percent slightly higher than the Foresters' 41.4. The visitors, however, connected on 10 of 18 three-pointers and nine of 11 free throws while Lake Forest shot just 6-for-23 from beyond the arc and 13-for-22 from the line. The home team had a slight 35-34 edge in rebounds and committed just 14 turnovers to Cornell's 17.
The Foresters' shot just 28 percent from the field in the first half and quickly fell behind 15-2. A 9-0 run by the Rams later in the period gave them an 18-point lead and the score was 34-19 at halftime.
Madson made a layup to start the second half but Cornell scored the next six points to extend the lead to 19 points (40-21) with less than 18 minutes to play in the period. The Foresters began their comeback with seven straight points and a three-pointer by Beck with 5:07 remaining finished off a 35-15 run and gave the home team a lead for the first time in the game. Lake Forest went ahead by two on a three-pointer by Beck with two-and-a-half minutes left and again on a pair of Beck free throws with 57.8 seconds to play. The Foresters had a chance to put the game away but shot just 2-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch. Cornell eventually forced overtime on a basket with just two-tenths of a second on the clock.
Cornell took the lead on a three-pointer 13 seconds into the extra frame and neither team was able to score again until Beck knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:48 to play. The Rams added a free throw with 15.5 seconds on the clock and won the game when a potential Forester three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.
Lake Forest fell to 4-8 overall this season and 2-5 in Midwest Conference play while Cornell raised its overall record to 4-7 and league mark to 4-3.
The Foresters will travel to Lawrence University next Wednesday for a 7:00 tip-off.
