Junior guard Sam Husting tied a program record with 11 three-pointers on Saturday but Lake Forest was defeated 125-119 at Grinnell College in a preview of the first semifinal of next weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament.
Husting connected on 11 of 14 shots from beyond the arc and his career-high 35 points were the most by a Forester this season. His 91 three-pointers on the year are just six shy of the team record set by Eric Porter in 2017-18.
Senior guard Jordan Moran was next on the team with a season-high 28 points and led all players in the game with a career-high 14 rebounds. Moran shot 10-for-13 from the field, raising his shooting percentage on the season to .696, which would be a school record. He also added three steals and a career-high six assists in the game.
While Moran was recording his third career double-double, freshman Andrew Harvey registered his first. Entering the contest with 21 points and eight rebounds on the season, he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards in just 17 minutes on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Sean Espinosa also reached double figures with 15 points and he added a team-high eight assists. He and freshman guard Tashon Brown are now the first pair of Forester teammates to each surpass 100 assists in the same season.
The Foresters shot 58.2 percent from the floor and their 18 three-pointers in 31 attempts are the second-highest single-game total in team history. Lake Forest had a 49-34 edge in rebounds but committed 29 turnovers to the Pioneers' 12.
Lake Forest was ahead by as many as 11 points during an opening period that included 10 ties and 11 lead changes. The Pioneers took a 63-62 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Husting hit a pair of three-pointers during a 13-3 run to open the second half but Grinnell responded with a 12-3 run to tie the game for the 11th time. The Foresters scored the next nine points and remained in the lead until the home team was finally able to tie the score at 106 with 4:36 to play. There were three more ties and the lead changed hands nine times in the next three minutes, the last on a Grinnell three-pointer with 1:49 remaining. The Pioneers outscored their guests 6-2 in the final minute-and-a-half to secure the victory.
Lake Forest finished the regular season 16-9 overall and in third place in the MWC standings at 12-6 in the league. Grinnell improved to 19-5 overall with victories in 15 of 18 conference contests.
The same two teams will face off again next Friday at 5:00 p.m. in the semifinals of the four-team MWC Tournament at St. Norbert College. The winner will advance to Saturday's tournament final at 3:00 in the afternoon.
