Lake Forest senior guard Jordan Gipson connected on a game-tying three-pointer with 0.6 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime but the Forester men's basketball team was defeated 70-65 by visiting Illinois College Tuesday night.
Gipson matched his career-high with 15 points in the contest and added a team-high three assists. He shot 6-for-9 from the field, including a 3-for-5 performance from three-point range.
Sophomore guard Austin Terry led the home team with a season-high 16 points and shot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. He also had a pair of steals in 20 minutes of play.
Freshman forward Jim Schick led Lake Forest with eight rebounds.
Both teams shot approximately 44 percent from the field in the contest. Lake Forest made a season-high 10 three-pointers in 25 attempts (40%) and knocked down seven of nine free throws. Illinois College made just five three-pointers in 24 tries (20.8%) but connected on 11 of 17 foul shots and out-rebounded the Foresters 41-29.
The Blueboys had a 21-11 edge in rebounds in the first half and led by as many as seven in the period. A three-pointer by Gipson with a second left made the score 33-29 in favor of the visitors at halftime.
A 9-0 Illinois College run early in the second half extended the lead to a game-high 14 points and the margin was 13 at 50-37 at the half-way mark of the period. Terry entered the contest and knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to trim the deficit to seven. His three-pointer with 6:09 to play pulled the Foresters to within seven again and he connected again from beyond the arc with 3:18 remaining to make it an eight-point game. Sophomore forward Torrey Davis made a three-pointer and another basket to make the score 57-54 with 1:43 left. Neither team scored again until, with 30.4 seconds left, the Blueboys made a pair of free throws. Schick made two four shots with 21.3 seconds on the clock but Illinois College regained its five-point lead with two more free throws with 20.3 seconds to play. Gipson made a layup with 15.4 seconds remaining and, after the Blueboys finally missed a free throw, forced overtime with a three-pointer in the final second.
Illinois College scored the first five points of the extra period and the Foresters were unable to make a basket until the final minute.
Lake Forest fell to 3-8 overall on the season and 2-4 in Midwest Conference play. The Blueboys are now 7-4 overall and 3-3 in the league.
The Foresters will travel to Cornell College on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
