The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 82-75 by Illinois College at home on Saturday. Senior guard Jeff Beck led Lake Forest with 22 points, including the 1,000th of his career on a free throw with 5:50 remaining in the first half.
Beck shot 8-for-16 from the field and connected on four of seven attempts from three-point range. He also led the Foresters with five assists. Beck is the 20th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
The Madson brothers, senior forward Chris and sophomore guard Brian, combined for 35 points and 25 rebounds in the contest. Brian Madson shot 8-for-12 from the floor and made a career-high five three-pointers in nine attempts from beyond the arc. He also pulled down eight rebounds. Chris Madson was 6-for-9 from the field in a career-high 14-point performance. His 17 boards matched the career-best he set Tuesday night at Carroll University.
The Foresters shot 49.2 percent from the field and made 13 of 30 three-pointers (43.3%) but could not slow down the Blueboys' offensive attack. Illinois College shot 56.3 percent from the field and made 16 of 23 three-pointers (69.6%). Lake Forest had a 35-22 edge in rebounds but committed 15 turnovers to the Blueboys' eight.
Lake Forest jumped out to a 12-4 lead but was outscored 24-7 over the next seven-plus minutes. Illinois College took a 37-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Foresters trimmed the margin to six early in the second half but a 12-0 Blueboy run made it an 18-point game and the lead grew to a game-high 21 points with 12:44 to play. A 12-2 run by the home team a few minutes later cut the deficit to single digits with 4:23 remaining and a layup by Chris Madson with 45 seconds left trimmed it to six (79-73). Illinois College held off the Forester rally, however, and secured the victory.
Lake Forest fell to 5-11 overall and 3-8 in Midwest Conference play. The Blueboys are now 8-8 overall and 5-6 in the league.
The Foresters will host league-leading St. Norbert College (12-3, 9-2 MWC) Wednesday night at 7:00.
