The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 113-112 in triple-overtime at Lakeland College Friday night in the season opener for both teams. Senior guard Jeff Beck led Lake Forest with a career-high 30 points and added seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
Beck's previous best for a game was 21 points and his eight assists Friday night matched his career-high. He scored 17 of the Foresters' 29 points during the overtime periods, including three on a game-tying shot with 14 seconds remaining in the first extra period. He had nine points in the second overtime and made a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds on the clock to tie the score again.
Forester sophomore forward Brian Madson also recorded career-highs with 24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and five blocked shots. He connected on four three-pointers in the contest and the double-double was the first of his career.
Not to be outdone, junior guard Jordan Gipson also established personal-bests on Friday with 15 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in his first career start. His third three-pointer of the contest made the score 113-112 in favor of Lakeland with 11 seconds to play in the third overtime but turned out to be the final basket of the game.
Senior guard Brad Johnstin, who transferred to the College last year but missed the season due to injury, scored 15 points off the bench in his Forester debut.
Senior forward Chris Madson scored eight points and doubled his previous career-high in rebounds with 12. Freshman forward Torrey Davis had nine points and also reached double figures with 10 boards.
Seven Foresters combined to make 16 three-pointers, matching the program record set in January of 2002. Lake Forest shot 16-for-44 (36.4%) from beyond the arc, easily surpassing the previous team record of 33 attempts from three-point range. Both teams shot approximately 44 percent from the field. The Muskies had a slightly better shooting performance on three-pointers at 38.9 percent but made just 17 of 31 free throws while the visitors knocked down 16 of 19 foul shots. Lake Forest out-rebounded the home team 61-50 but committed 25 turnovers to Lakeland's 12.
The largest lead of the contest was a seven-point Muskie advantage early in the game. The score was tied six times in the first half and five times in the second. Back-to-back three-pointers by Brian Madson gave the Foresters a six-point lead, their largest of the game, with 2:42 to play in regulation but the home team came back and tied the score at 83 on a basket with 2.5 seconds on the clock.
Lakeland led by as many as three points in each of the first two overtimes but Beck tied the score in the closing seconds of both extra frames. The home team seemed to be in control with a six-point lead late in the third overtime but three-pointers by Beck and Gipson helped Lake Forest close to within one with 11 seconds left. Lakeland missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds to play but the Foresters were unable to get off a good shot at the end.
Lake Forest's 112 points on the night are the third-highest single-game total in program history.
The Foresters will play their home opener against Carthage College next Tuesday night at 7:30.
