Forester sophomore guard Eric Porter connected on a school record 11 of 15 three-point field goal attempts and scored 37 points to lead Lake Forest to an 81-76 victory at Coe College on Saturday.
Porter's point total matched the 10th-highest scoring output in team history and his 11 three-pointers shattered the previous mark of eight set last year by guard Danny Nikitas, a freshman at the time. Porter made 12 of 17 shots from the field overall and added two assists and a game-high three steals in the contest.
Porter scored half of the Foresters' 32 points in the first half. The visitors trailed by as many as 17 points in the period and faced a 43-32 deficit at halftime.
Lake Forest chipped away at the Coe lead and Porter three-pointers trimmed the margin to three with 11:19 to play and to two with with 3:37 remaining. Forester Andrew Toth knotted the score at 74 on a three-pointer with 90 seconds left and fellow junior guard Mike Rueffer broke the tie gave the visitors their first lead of the day on a three-pointer with less than a minute to play. After a basket by the Kohawks cut the Forester lead to one, Porter knocked down his 11th and final three-pointer of the game with 11 seconds left. He then added a steal and made one of two free throws with four seconds on the clock to clinch the victory.
Rueffer finished the contest with a career-high 14 points and was the only other Forester to score in double figures. He also set a career-high with seven rebounds, matching junior forward Jim Schick for game-high honors. Schick led Lake Forest with four assists.
The victory evened the Foresters' record on the season at 4-4 while Coe fell to 5-4.
It was the final game of 2015 for Lake Forest, which will resume Midwest Conference play on Saturday, January 2, with a 3:00 p.m. home game against Monmouth College.
