Victory over Monmouth is Foresters' Eighth in Nine Games

Photo by Sydney Gardner
Photo by Sydney Gardner

Senior forward Jim Schick led Lake Forest with 16 points as the Forester men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Monmouth College with a 76-66 victory at home on Saturday.

Schick shot 6-for-9 from the field and added seven rebounds and a pair of assists in just 20 minutes of play. Sophomore forward Danny Sotos was also 6-for-9 from the field and was next on the team with 14 points. Junior guard Eric Porter also reached double figures with 12 points and led the squad in assists with three. 

Forester sophomore forward Chad Bouchan led all players in the contest with a career-high nine rebounds as the home team finished with a 37-27 edge on the boards. Lake Forest shot 53.8 percent from the field while the Fighting Scots connected on just 34.6 percent of the attempts from the floor. The teams combined to shoot just 8-for-44 on three-pointers while knocking down 42 free throws in 51 tries.

A 15-2 run by the Foresters turned a 9-6 deficit into a 21-11 lead early in the opening period. The margin reached as many as 17 points in the first half and Lake Forest led 37-22 after 20 minutes of play.

A nine-point run by the Fighting Scots early in the second half made it an eight-point game and the visitors pulled to within six with five minutes remaining. Lake Forest regained a double-digit advantage four times in the final five minutes and were ahead by at least 10 throughout the final minute, thanks in part to four consecutive free throws by freshman guard Aram Arslanian, who finished with 10 points in the contes.

The Foresters have won four games in a row and are 8-1 since early December. The team improved to 9-6 overall this season and 7-3 in Midwest Conference play. Monmouth fell to 4-11 overall and 4-6 in the league.

Lake Forest will continue conference play against visiting Illinois College on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.