Freshman guard Jordan Moran scored all nine of his points after the end of regulation as the Lake Forest College men's basketball team outlasted visiting Beloit College 86-84 in double overtime on Wednesday.
Moran gave the home team the lead for good on a basket to start the second overtime and Lake Forest outscored Beloit 8-0 during the first three-and-a-half minutes of the period. The Buccaneers came back and pulled to within three before a pair of free throws by Moran made it a five-point game with 25.5 seconds to play. A three-pointer by the visitors with 18.1 seconds left trimmed the margin to two points but junior guard Mike Rueffer and junior forward Jim Schick each knocked down one of two free throws to help secure the victory. A Beloit basket at the buzzer accounted for the final score.
A furious comeback by the Foresters at the end of regulation made the overtime win possible. A 9-0 run by the Bucs gave them a 61-51 lead with just 1:57 on the clock. Rueffer made a free throw with 1:42 remaining and a Schick tip-in made it a seven-point game with 79 seconds left. Rueffer made one of two foul shots again with 1:01 to play and, after a basket by sophomore guard Eric Porter, Rueffer cut the deficit to one on a traditional three-point play with 20.9 second remaining. Beloit, which had missed four consecutive free throws down the stretch, made one of two from the line with 10.1 seconds on the clock to make the score 62-60. Rueffer was fouled driving to the hoop with 0.4 seconds left and he made both free throws to tie the score and force overtime.
Lake Forest appeared to have secure the victory in the first overtime after taking a four-point lead on a pair of free throws by junior guard Andrew Toth with 12.6 seconds remaining. Beloit, however, scored a basket with 6.2 seconds on the clock and the Foresters were unable to inbound the ball in time, giving the Bucs possession. A jumper at the buzzer went in, forcing the second extra period.
Schick finished with a team-high 26 points and led all players in the game with a dozen rebounds. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and made the Foresters' only three-pointer of the evening. Freshman forward Danny Sotos was next on the team with 18 points, including 12 to keep Lake Forest in the game during the first half, and he grabbed eight rebounds. Rueffer also reached double figures with 11 points and added seven boards as the home team out-rebounded Beloit 49-35.
The Foresters shot 46.4 percent from the field to the Buccaneers' 44.1 percent. The visitors outscored Lake Forest 24-3 on three-pointers but made just 16 of 30 foul shots while the home team shot 21-for-27 from the line.
The victory improved Lake Forest's overall recod on the season to 9-5 and Midwest Conference mark to 7-3. Beloit fell to 6-10 overall and 4-7 in the league.
After posting their fifth win in six games this month, the Foresters will travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa, to take on Cornell College Saturday afternoon at 1:00.