The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 73-68 in a Midwest Conference game at Cornell College on Saturday.
Lake Forest junior wing Johnny Roeser and senior guard Sean Espinosa shared team-high honors with 17 points apiece. Roeser also led all players in the game with five blocked shots and 18 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and fifth this season. Espinosa dished out a game-high four assists.
Sophomore guard Rocco Ronzio connected three times from beyond the arc in the second half and joined Roeser and Espinosa in double figures with 11 points.
The Foresters shot just 40.8 percent from the field, 5-for-26 from three-point range, and 5-for-10 from the foul line. The Rams finished at 43.5 percent overall, made 10 three-pointers in 22 attempts, and knocked down 9 of 14 foul shots. Both teams grabbed 41 rebounds and Lake Forest had a slight edge in turnovers, committing 13 while forcing 15.
Cornell was ahead by as many as six points and the Foresters by five in an opening period that featured six lead changes. Both teams had 29 points in the game's first 20 minutes.
The home team scored the first six points of the second half and led the rest of the way. The margin reached 10 points with 5:35 to play but the Foresters eventually closed to within two on a Ronzio three-pointer with two minutes left. They got no closer, however and fell to 3-7 overall and 2-1 in league play this season.
Cornell improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the MWC.
Lake Forest will host a non-conference game against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wednesday night at 7:00.