The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 49-45 at home by Lawrence University Friday night. Lake Forest, which trailed by 17 at halftime, pulled to within two points late in the game but was unable to complete the comeback.
Sophomore guard Jeff Beck and junior post player Travis Clark led the home team with 11 points apiece and Clark led the squad with 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. He also had a team-high three assists.
After shooting just 17.4 percent in the game's first 20 minutes, the Foresters made half of their field goal attempts in the second and finished the game at 34.7 percent. They also made eight of 23 three-pointers and just three of eight free throws. The Vikings, who entered the game shooting a Midwest Conference-best 51 percent from the floor, made just 36.7 percent of their field goal attempts on Friday. They were also 7-for-16 from three-point range and 6-for-11 from the line. Lawrence had a 35-31 edge in rebounds and committed two fewer turnovers (13-11) than Lake Forest.
The visitors connected on a three-pointer on the game's opening possession and led throughout the contest. After a pair of free throws by Clark, an 11-0 Viking run extended the margin to 12. The difference reached 19 points (29-10) with three minutes to play in the half, which ended with the Foresters trailing 29-12.
A 15-1 run by Lake Forest to open the second half made the score 30-27 with 15 minutes to play. Lawrence scored the next five points to extend the lead to eight points. The difference was eight again before a 7-1 run by the Foresters trimmed it to two (41-39) the 7:45 left. Five points by the Vikings were followed by five by Lake Forest, making the score 46-44 with five minutes remaining. The final four points of the game were scored at the free throw line, two by Lawrence with 2:55 left, one by Clark with 1:24 to play, and the last by the visitors with 17 ticks on the clock.
The loss dropped the Foresters' overall record to 8-10 and their MWC mark to 6-7. Lawrence is now 10-9 overall and 9-5 in the league.
Lake Forest will host Carroll University tomorrow afternoon at 4:00.