Despite a season-high 15 points from senior wing Aram Arslanian, the Foresters were defeated 84-71 Wednesday evening at St. Norbert College.
Arslanian shot 7-for-11 from the field and led Lake Forest in scoring for the first time this year. Junior guard Sean Espinosa and freshman wing Zak Klug also reached double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and Espinosa added a team-high four assists and three steals.
Lake Forest shot nearly 52 percent from the field and made nine three-pointers in 24 attempts. The Green Knights, however, knocked down 11 three-pointers, outscored the visitors 19-4 from the free throw line, out-rebounded the Foresters 38-30, and forced 20 turnovers while committing 15.
The first half featured 10 lead changes, the last on a St. Norbert three-pointer that started an 18-7 run, giving the home team a 49-38 lead at halftime.
A 10-0 run by the Foresters early in the second half trimmed the deficit to two points but the Green Knights responded with 10 consecutive points of their own and increased the margin to 15 with nine minutes to play. Lake Forest outscored the hosts 15-4 to make it a four-point game with four minutes left but St. Norbert accounted for each of the final nine points of the contest to start the Midwest Conference schedule with a victory.
The Foresters fell to 3-3 overall this season while the Knights improved to 2-2.
Lake Forest will host Monmouth College next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.