The Forester men's basketball team dropped a 75-63 decision at North Park University Wednesday night.
After falling behind by 15 points in the opening period, Lake Forest closed to within six (38-32) at halftime and was ahead 52-51 at the midpoint of the second half. The Vikings, however, scored the game's next eight points. The Foresters pulled back to within two on three separate occasions, the last at 63-61, but were outscored 12-2 over the final three-and-a-half minutes.
Junior forward Johnny Roeser shot 9-for-18 from the field and led all players in the contest with 24 points. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and is averaging 16.3 points and 11.3 boards after three games this season.
Sophomore forward Val Oplchenski was next on the team with 15 points after making all six of his field goal attempts. Sophomore guard Rocco Ronzio also reached double figures with a dozen points.
Lake Forest shot 44.2 percent from the field while the home team was at just 36.6 percent. However, the Foresters were outscored 18-12 on three pointers and 17-13 at the foul line. In addition, North Park had a 44-35 edge in rebounds while committing 9 turnovers and forcing 17.
The loss is Lake Forest's third in a six-day span to open the season. It was the first game of the year for North Park.
The Foresters will play their home opener against the University of Chicago Saturday afternoon at 4:00. It is also Parents Day for the home team.