Junior guard Sean Espinosa scored a career-high 36 points, including the 1,000th of his career, but the Foresters were defeated 86-76 at Monmouth College on Saturday.
Espinosa made 13 of 20 field goal attempts, including three of five from three-point range, and added three steals in the contest. His point total is the highest by a Forester in more than four years. He is the 23rd player in program history to score 1,000 points and just the eighth to accomplish the feat as a junior.
Senior wing Aram Arslanian was the only other Forester in double figures with 15 points and he also grabbed eight rebounds. Junior wing Michael Drew Jr. led the visitors with nine boards as Lake Forest was edged out 31-27 in that category.
The Foresters shot a respectable 48.3 percent from the field but Monmouth was much more efficient at 60.4 percent. The Fighting Scots also outscored Lake Forest 15-12 on three-pointers and 17-14 from the free throw line.
The game was tied at 26 after 12 minutes of play. Monmouth then grabbed the lead for good and outscored the Foresters 15-5 during the remainder of the first half. Lake Forest closed back to within a point twice in the middle of the second half but was unable to keep up down the stretch. The margin reached double figures again at the 6:12 mark and was at least seven the rest of the way.
The loss dropped the Foresters overall record on the season to 8-8 and they are 5-4 at the midpoint of their Midwest Conference schedule. Monmouth improved to 13-4 overall and 8-2 in the league.
Lake Forest will host a pair of conference games next weekend, hosting Illinois College Friday night at 5:30 and Knox College the following afternoon at 1:00.