Sophomore guard Sean Espinosa led all players with a career-high 29 points in Lake Forest's 98-70 victory over Beloit College at home on Saturday.
Espinosa also dished out three assists and recorded three steals on the day. Although he made 12 of 20 shots from the floor, he actually brought Lake Forest's field goal percentage down. Entering the game leading the Midwest Conference in that category at 49.6 percent for the season, the Foresters connected on 62.1 percent of their shot on Saturday, their highest mark in more than two years. In addition to the team's accurate shooting from the field, Lake Forest also connected on 20 of 22 foul shots, matching the eighth-highest single-game free throw percentage in program history. The Foresters were out-rebounded 32-27 but forced 23 turnovers while committing just nine.
Senior Danny Sotos was next on the team with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also became just the fifth player in program history to score at least 300 points in four straight seasons.
Freshman guard Tashon Brown and junior guard Aram Arslanian finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively, and they shared team-high honors with four rebounds apiece. Brown also led the squad with four assists. Senior forward Jordan Moran also reached double figures with 11 points in the game.
Beloit's only lead of the contest was 4-2 and preceded a 9-0 run by the Foresters. The home team's advantage reached double figures on a layup by Moran at the midpoint of the first half, which ended with Lake Forest leading 47-34.
The margin grew to 20 points during a personal 6-0 run by Brown that began six-and-a-half minutes into the second half. Espinosa scored the Foresters' next 13 points as the difference grew to 30 and his free throws with 7:13 to play gave the home team a game-high 33-point lead. A 12-2 run by the Buccaneers made it a 23-point game but the visitors got no closer.
The victory was the fourth in a row for the Foresters, who are now 14-7 overall and 10-4 in MWC play this season. Beloit fell to 6-15 overall and 4-10 in the league.
Lake Forest will play at Lawrence University Tuesday night at 7:30.