Junior forward Danny Sotos scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the second half to help lead the Lake Forest College men's basketball team to an 82-77 victory at the University of Chicago on Saturday.
Sotos was 11-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range in the game. He made all eight of his field goal attempts, including four from beyond the arc, after halftime. Beginning with a three-pointer to tie the score at 47 with 13:11 remaining in the contest and ending with a pair of free throws with 1:57 to play, Sotos scored 20 of Lake Forest's 26 points while helping the visitors hold the Maroons to just 18. Leading 72-65 after a layup by junior forward Chad Bauchan with 1:03 left, the Foresters repeatedly got the ball to senior guard Eric Porter in the final minute and he made all eight of his free throws during the time to seal the victory.
While Sotos matched his career-high for scoring and tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds, Porter finished with a season-high 24 points in the contest. He connected on all 12 of his foul shots to set a program record for free throws in a game without a miss. Junior guard Jordan Moran joined Sotos with seven boards while freshman guard Sean Espinosa led Lake Forest with seven assists.
The Foresters shot 49 percent from the field while limiting Chicago to just 40 percent. Lake Forest made nine three-pointers on 39 percent shooting from long range but was still outscored 42-27 in that category as the Maroons shot 14-for-37 (38%) from three-point range. The visitor had a 15-7 edge in made free throws and a 42-35 advantage in rebounds but committed 13 turnovers to the home team's seven.
Lake Forest led by as many as seven points early in the contest but trailed by nine late in the first half. The Foresters scored the next 10 points to take the lead but trailed by four (36-32) at halftime. Chicago was ahead 47-40 early in the final period before two free throws and a layup by Porter pulled the visitors to within three and set up the second-half run by Sotos.
The victory was the fourth in a row away from home after a season-opening loss for the Foresters while the Maroons fell to 2-2 on the year.
Lake Forest will resume Midwest Conference play with a pair of home games next weekend. After hosting Cornell College Friday evening at 5:30, the team will take on Grinnell College at 1:00 Saturday afternoon.