The Forester men's basketball team dropped a 77-71 decision to Carroll University at home Wednesday night, despite 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds by senior forward Brian Madson.
Madson shot 7-for-10 from the field and added three blocked shots while playing all but three minutes in the contest. Freshman guard Danny Nikitas and junior forward Torrey Davis also reached double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore foward Jim Schick battled foul trouble for much of the night and finished with eight points and as many rebounds.
Both teams made 23 field goals, including six three-pointers, and committed 11 turnovers. Carroll had a slight advantage at the free throw line, making 25 of 30 attempts while the Foresters shot 19-for-25. Lake Forest out-rebounded the Pioneers 34-24.
There were nine lead changes in the first half, the last on a long three-pointer by junior guard Austin Terry to beat the shot clock with 8:532 remaining in the period. That basket started a 7-0 run by the Foresters, who eventually led by as many as eight points and went into the locker room at halftime ahead 40-34.
Carroll came back and took a 44-43 lead on a traditional three-point play with 15:31 left in the game. After a basket by Madson put the Foresters back on top, the Pioneers scored the next nine points and led the rest of the way. The home team battled back and trailed by just two on six different occasions, the last at 70-68 with 2:39 on the clock. The visitors scored the next four points, however, and a three-pointer by Nikitas was the Foresters' only basket in the final two-and-a-half minutes.
The loss drops Lake Forest's overall record to 1-4 and Midwest Conference mark to 1-3. Carroll is now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.
The Foresters will travel to Knox College on Saturday and take on the Prairie Fire at 5:00 p.m.
