Freshman point guard Sean Espinosa scored 10 points in the first nine minutes and a season-high 14 on the evening to help lead the Forester men's basketball team to an 80-55 victory over visiting Cornell College on Friday.
Espinosa shot 5-for-8 from the field and connected on two of four attempts from three-point range. He also matched his highest assist total of the season with seven.
Thee other Foresters reached double figures in points, led by senior guard Eric Porter, who had 15. He knocked down four three-pointers in seven tries and added four steals in the contest. Junior forward Danny Sotos and senior forward Orlando Brown matched Espinosa with 14 points apiece. Brown also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of play.
Lake Forest took the lead for good on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Sam Husting with 15:43 to play in the first half. The margin reached nine points late in the period but the Rams scored the final five points before halftime and trailed by just four at 34-30 after 20 minutes of play.
Brown scored eight points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half as the Forester lead reached double figures. A 19-5 run by the home team a few minutes later made it a 20-point game with 9:28 remaining. The Lake Forest eventually reached 28 points in the final minute.
The Foresters shot 56.3 percent from the field in the second half and 48.4 percent for the game. They also knocked down a dozen three-pointers in 28 attempts (42.9%) and connected on six of 10 foul shots. Lake Forest limited the Rams to just 40 percent shooting, out-rebounded the visitors 35-28, and committed just 12 turnovers while forcing 23.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Foresters, who are now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Midwest Conference play this season. It was the first league game of the year for Cornell, which fell to 2-2 overall.
Lake Forest will continue conference play Saturday afternoon against Grinnell College. Tip-off for the Parents Day game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.