Senior forward Jon Schick pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds to help lead the Lake Forest College men's basketball team to a 66-63 triumph over visiting Beloit College on Tuesday.
Schick grabbed five offensive boards and 12 at the defensive end of the court as the Foresters out-rebounded the Buccaneers 44-42 on the night. Senior guard Mike Rueffer was next on the team with seven rebounds and he added a team-high three assists in his first action of the season.
Sophomore forward Danny Sotos led Lake Forest with 20 points while Schick and Rueffer were two of five players on the team with six points apiece.
Lake Forest shot 41 percent from the field while Beloit connected on just 36.3 percent of field goal attempts. Both teams knocked down five three-pointers adn struggled from the line, combining to miss 22 times from the foul line in 49 total attempts.
Beloit had the biggest lead of the first half at five points. There were eight lead changes in the period, which ended with the teams tied at 28.
The Foresters took the lead for good on a three-point play by Sotos with 15 minutes to play. The margin grew to as many as nine points at 49-40 with 9:27 left but Beloit closed back to within two just a few minutes later. The lead was down to a single point with four-and-a-half minutes remaining and then back up to five after a three-pointer by junior guard Eric Porter with just less than a minute to go. A basket by Beloit with just 12.1 seconds on the clock made it a one-point game but a pair of free throws by Sotos with 8.3 ticks left put the home team back up by three. Both teams added a free throw in the final seconds and a desperation three-quarter-court shot by the Buccaneers at the buzzer was off target to preserve the Lake Forest victory.
It was the Midwest Conference opener for both teams. Lake Forest improved to 1-2 overall while Beloit fell to 2-1.
The Foresters will play a non-conference game at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday evening at 6:00.
