Senior guard Mike Rueffer led the Forester men's basketball team with 17 points and a 66-53 victory at Lawrence University Wednesday night was Lake Forest's seventh triumph in the last eight games.
Rueffer made two of five attempts from three-point range and 11 of 12 free throws in the contest. Fourteen of the points, including all 11 from the line, were scored in the game's final 16 minutes.
With the game tied at 46 and less than nine minutes remaining, Rueffer and sophomore forward Danny Sotos combined to score 10 straight points and give the Foresters the lead for good. The Vikings pulled back to within seven points with 98 seconds to play but Rueffer connected on nine of 10 foul shots down the stretch to secure the victory.
Forester junior guard Eric Porter and sophomore guard Jordan Moran also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Porter had a team-high eight at halftime and Moran had eight to go with seven rebounds in the second half. Senior forward Jim Schick matched Moran's team-high seven boards and added a pair of blocked shots in just 17 minutes of play.
The visitors shot 44.4 percent from the floor while Lawrence connected on 40.4 percent of field goal attempts. The Foresters outscored their hosts 21-12 from three-point range and 19-3 from the free throw line while out-rebounding the Vikings 40-26.
Lake Forest is now 8-6 overall this season and tied with Lawrence for third place in the Midwest Conference standings at 6-3 in league play. The Vikings fell to 6-7 overall.
The Foresters will host Monmouth College Saturday at 5:00 p.m.