Lake Forest senior guard Andrew Toth tied for the team lead with 14 points and got the home crowd going in the first half but the Forester men's basketball team began its season with a 79-71 loss to Coe College at home Tuesday night.
Toth outscored the Kohawks 10-4 during a three-minute span to tie the score at 36 late in the first half. The Foresters had trailed by as many as 11 points earlier in the period but a pair of three-pointers each by junior guard Eric Porter, sophomore forward Danny Sotos, and Toth fueled the Lake Forest comeback. Sotos matched Toth with 14 points in the contest w.hile Porter and junior forward Orlando Brown finished with 11 points apiece.
After a basket by Coe in the final few seconds of the half, Forester freshman guard Luke McDermott beat the buzzer from beyond midcourt to give the home team a 39-38 lead at halftime. McDermott, who was in the starting lineup, completed his collegiate debut with nine points.
Lake Forest led by as many as five points early in the second half but an 8-point run by Coe put the visitors ahead for good. The margin reached 11 points before the Foresters closed back to within four on a McDermott free throw with 99 seconds left. The Kohawks shot 9-for-14 from the foul line and the home team could manage just five more points during the final 1:38 of the contest.
Both teams shot approximately 47 percent from the floor and they combined to knock down 21 of 50 attempts from three-point range. Coe had a significant advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Foresters 45-25 on the night.
Lake Forest will also be at home in its second game of the 2016-17 season when the team hosts the University of Chicago Saturday afternoon at 3:00.