The Lake Forest College men's basketball team was defeated 64-61 at Monmouth College on Saturday in the final game of the season for both teams. Forester junior forward Bledi Dervishi shot 6-for-6 from the field and finished with 12 points off the bench for the visitors.
Sophomore forward Brian Madson actually led Lake Forest with 14 points and added seven rebounds. He also blocked three shots and finished the year with 29 blocks, the sixth-highest single-season total in recorded team history. Dervishi was next and junior guard Jordan Gipson and freshman guard Austin Terry added nine points apiece. Senior forward Chris Madson had eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Lake Forest shot 44.6 percent from the floor, the team's highest field goal percentage this month, but connected on just six of 23 three-pointers and attempted just six free throws, making five. Monmouth's shooting percentage was .431 and the home team connected on four of 17 attempts from beyond the arc and 10 of 17 foul shots. The Fighting Scots had a 37-33 edge in rebounds and committed 13 of the game's 29 turnovers.
A 9-0 Forester run in the first half extended the visitors' lead into double figures and Lake Forest took a 41-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Brian Madson connected on three-pointers on two of the Foresters' first three possessions of the second half, increasing the margin to a game-high 18 points on both occasions. Ten straight points by the home team later in the half pulled the Scots to within six with 13:39 remaining in the contest. Back-to-back baskets by Dervishi put Lake Forest ahead by 10 and a three-pointer by Terry made it an 11-point game (56-45) with 11:18 left. Monmouth then went on a 15-0 run to take a 60-56 lead with four-and-a-half minutes to play. The lead was four again before a three-pointer by Gipson with four seconds on the clock cut it to one. Monmouth made a pair of free throws two seconds later and Lake Forest was unable to tie the score.
Both teams finished the season with 7-16 overall records. Monmouth's 6-10 Midwest Conference mark is a game better than the Foresters'.
Lake Forest will lose Chris Madson and guards Jeff Beck and Brad Johnstin to graduation in May. Beck led the team with 18.1 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Chris Madson was the Foresters' leading rebounder with 8.3 boards per game.