The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 72-59 by Ripon College Tuesday night in Lake Forest's final home game of the season.
The visitors took the lead for good with nearly six minutes to play in the first half. Lake Forest had rattled off nine straight points a few minutes earlier, completely erasing an early eight point deficit. Ripon took a 33-29 lead into the lock room at halftime.
The margin reached double figures early in the second half but the Foresters closed to within four with six minutes remaining. The Red Hawks, however, scored the next seven points and Lake Forest got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Forester sophomore guard Alex Knight led all players in the game with 25 points and five assists. He continues to be the leading scorer in Midwest Conference play this season with 17.4 points per league game.
Lake Forest also has the top rebounder in the MWC in senior forward Johnny Roeser, who pulled down a game-high 13 boards on Tuesday and averages 10.5 per conference contest. He also scored a dozen points for his eighth double-double of the year and 21st as a Forester.
Ripon finished the night shooting 56.6 percent from the field while the Foresters were at just 39.6. The rebounding edge also went to the visitors 32-21.
Lake Forest is now 10-14 overall this season and 7-7 in league play. Ripon improved to 13-11 overall and 9-6 in the MWC.
The Foresters will close out the season at Grinnell College on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 5:00 p.m.