The Forester men's basketball team fell 70-67 at Illinois College on Saturday. Junior post player Travis Clark led the visitors with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Clark shot 7-for-10 from the field to raise his shooting percentage on the season to .667. He also knocked down four of five foul shots.
Junior forward Nate Bateman, sophomore guard Jeff Beck, and junior guard Chris Roets, also reached double figures with 15, 13, and 11 points, respectively. Beck and Bateman also added three assists apiece. Junior forward Drew Grennell matched Clark's team-high eight rebounds.
The Foresters shot 45.5 percent from the field, 10-for-26 from three-point range, and 7-for-10 from the foul line. It was the third time this season that the team made at least 10 three-pointers. The Blueboys connected on 47.5 percent of their field goal attempts, including eight of 20 from beyond the arc, and four of seven foul shots. Lake Forest committed a season-low seven turnovers while forcing 10. Illinois College, however, out-rebounded the visitors 38-27.
After six early lead changes, a 16-4 run by the Blueboys gave them a 23-12 lead. The Foresters responded with a 15-5 run, trimming the deficit to a single point, but still trailed 34-27 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Beck with 14:38 to play put Lake Forest ahead 43-42 and the Foresters were either tied with or leading the home team for the next 13 minutes. Bateman broke a 63-63 tie with a pair of free throws with 1:27 remaining but a three-pointer just nine seconds later put Illinois College back on top. A Clark jumper with 55 seconds to play gave the Foresters a 67-66 advantage but they would no score again. The Blueboys took the lead on a layup with 40 seconds left and added a basket with 4.3 on the clock. A three-pointer at the buzzer came up short for Lake Forest, which fell to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in Midwest Conference play this season.
The Blueboys raised their overall record to 8-2 and league mark to 4-1.
The Foresters will host three games next week, beginning with a tilt against Knox College Tuesday night at 7:30. Lake Forest will also take on Ripon College at 7:00 Friday night and Beloit College the following evening at 5:00. Links to live video and live stats for all three games will be available on the Lake Forest College Athletics website.
