Junior guard Andrew Toth knocked down four three-pointers and scored a season-high 15 points but the Forester men's basketball team was edged out 69-67 by Lawrence University at home on Tuesday.
It was the second start of the year for Toth, who played a season-high 30 minutes in the contest. He was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second half as the Foresters nearly erased a 13-point deficit.
Junior forward Jim Schick led the home team with 16 points on the evening and added a game-high14 rebounds, including 12 after halftime, for his 11th double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Eric Porter and freshman forward Danny Sotos also reached double figures with 11 points apiece and junior guard Mike Rueffer added nine points to his team-high four assists.
Lawrence shot 14-for-17 from the field during the first 14 minutes and finished the contest at 55.3 percent. The Foresters connected on just 38.7 percent of their field goal attempts but out-rebounded the Vikings 42-22 to post a 10-0 advantage in second chance points.
Lawrence took the lead for good on a basket five-and-a-half minutes into the game. The margin grew to as many as a dozen points in the opening period and was eight (40-32) at halftime.
Toth started the second half with a three-pointer but the visitors rattled off eight straight points to take their largest lead of the game at 48-35. The Foresters chipped away at the deficit and a three-pointer by Toth with 6:50 to play made it a three-point game at 55-52. Lawrence pulled back ahead by eight a few possessions later and led by seven with three minutes left. A basket by Sotos, a pair of free throws by Rueffer, and a layup by Porter pulled the home team to within a point with 1:06 to go. The Vikings made just one of two free throws four times in the final minute but the Foresters were unable to take advantage. A three-pointer by Porter with 3.0 seconds on the clock made the score 68-67 but the home team was not able to get a shot off after free throw attempts with 2.4 seconds left.
The Foresters are now 9-7 overall and 7-5 in Midwest Conference play this season while Lawrence improved to 7-10 overall and 4-8 in the league.
Lake Forest is tied for fourth place in the conference standings with Monmouth College, the Foresters' opponent on Saturday. The game will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Monmouth, Illinois. Lake Forest prevailed 82-63 when the teams played in Lake Forest on January 2.