Behind a game-high 25 points and nine assists from freshman guard Tashon Brown, Lake Forest defeated host Illinois College 105-92 Friday night.
Both totals were also season-highs for Brown, who connected on three of five attempts from three-point range and 12 of 14 free throws in the contest.
Five other Foresters scored in double figures as well, marking the second time this season the team has had six players with at least 10 points. Senior forward Danny Sotos and junior guard Aram Arslanian each had 17 and combined to shoot 14-for-20 from the field. Sophomore guard Sean Espinosa and senior guard Jordan Moran were next with 16 and 11, respectively, and they shared game-high honors with seven rebounds apiece. Junior guard Sam Husting added 10 points.
Lake Forest shot 56.5 percent from the field, knocked down 10 of 24 three-pointers, and continued the team's recent success at the line, making 25 of 31 attempts. The visitors also had a 37-31 edge in rebounds.
The Foresters outscored the Blueboys 14-9 in the game's first five minutes and Sotos accounted for a dozen of those points. A 13-3 Lake Forest run increased the lead to 15 points and it eventually reached 26 on a layup by Moran in the closing seconds of the first half. A Blueboy three-pointer at the buzzer made the score 54-31 in favor of the visitors at halftime.
All three of Brown's three-pointers on the evening came during a 90-second span early in the second half as the Lake Forest lead grew to 31 points. Illinois College closed to within 12 points with nearly nine minutes to play and to 11 at 88-77 three minutes later. The margin eventually shrunk to nine with 1:27 on the clock but Brown, Espinosa, and Moran combined to make nine foul shots down the stretch to help secure the victory.
Lake Forest is now 11-7 overall and 7-4 in Midwest Conference play while Illinois College fell to 4-14 overall and 2-9 in the league.
The Foresters will travel to Knox College on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
