The Forester men's basketball team was edged out 67-65 at Carthage College on Saturday. Sophomore guard Andrew Toth led Lake Forest with 14 points on the evening.
Toth knocked down four of five attempts from three-point range and shot 5-for-7 from the field overall. He was one of three Foresters to sscore in double figures and was joined by freshman guard Danny Nikitas and sophomore forward Jim Schick with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Senior forward Tyrone Staggers led all players in the contest with 10 rebounds.
The Foresters shot 42 percent from the field and 47 percent (7-for-15) from beyond the arc. Lake Forest also made 14 of 15 foul shots to match the second-highest single-game free throw percentage in program history. The Red Men shot 46 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the visitors 35-26.
The largest lead for either team was the Foresters' six-point (17-11) advantage after a traditional three-point play by sophomore guard Mike Rueffer with 13:28 remaining in the first half. Carthage eventually came back and took a 28-26 lead and Lake Forest trailed by two again at 33-31 before scoring the final four points of the half.
The visitors led by as many as five points early in the second half but a 7-0 run a few minutes later gave Carthage a three-point edge at 45-42. Lake Forest scored the next five points and held the lead until a Red Men three-pointer tied the score at 56 with five minutes remaining. A basket by Schick and three-pointer by Nikitas gave the Foresters a five-point lead and they were ahead 65-62 after a layup by junior forward Torrey Davis with 1:04 to play. The home team, however, made a layup with 43 second left and regained the lead on a three-point play with 17 seconds on the clock.
The Foresters were unable to score on their final possession and fell to 3-5 on the season. Carthage is now 4-5.
Lake Forest's next two games will be played at Greensboro College in North Carolina. The Foresters will take on the hosts on Sunday, December 28, and Dominican University the following day. Both games will begin at 2:00 p.m. (EST).
