Junior guard Sam Husting and senior forward Danny Sotos combined for 15 of Lake Forest's program record 20 three-pointers Friday night in a 92-71 victory at Grace Christian University.
Husting finished with a career-high 27 points and matched the third-highest single-game total in team history with nine three-pointers in just 14 attempts. After making a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the first half, he knocked down seven in nine tries during the game's final 20 minutes.
Sotos was 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 on three-pointers in a season-best 26-point performance. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists in the contest. Four of his three-pointers came in the first half and he led all players with 18 points at that point in the contest.
Forester sophomore guard Sean Espinosa accounted for four of the Foresters' three-pointers and finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 assists, matching the third-highest total in school history. It was his first collegiate double-double.
Lake Forest shot 53 percent from the field on the night and reached 20 made three-pointers in 39 attempts. The Foresters committed just nine turnovers while forcing a dozen but were out-rebounded 39-35.
Espinosa and Sotos each connected three times from long range a the Foresters built up a 25-9 lead in the games first six minutes. The Tigers scored the game's next nine points to trim the margin to seven but got no closer. A three-pointer by Husting ended the run and the visitors maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Lake Forest led 47-30 after 20 minutes of play and by as many as 27 points in the second half.
The victory improved the Foresters' record on the season to 6-3 while Grace Christian fell to 11-7.
Lake Forest will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, next week for the D3 Desert Invitational. The team will take on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the semifinals Friday at 5:00 p.m. local time and the consolation and championship games will occur the following afternoon.