Senior guard Eric Porter tied his own school record with 11 three-pointers and finished with a career-high 42 points in the Lake Forest College men's basketball team's 104-91 triumph over visiting Grinnell College Saturday afternoon.
Porter shot 11-for-18 from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 from the foul line while recording the fifth-highest single-game scoring total in program history. He is the only player in team annals with more than eight three-pointers in a contest, having made nine against Grinnell last season and 11 on Saturday and once during his sophomore year.
Four other Foresters scored in double figures on Saturday, led by junior guard Jordan Moran, who posted his second career double-double with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior forward Chad Bauchan finished with a career-high 13 points and senior forward Orlando Brown added a dozen in as many minutes of play. They combined to shoot 11-for-17 from the field in the contest. Junior forward Danny Sotos had 11 points and 10 rebounds to join Moran with double-double status.
Lake Forest freshman point guard Sean Espinosa scored just two points but finished with a career-high six rebounds and 11 assists while committing just four turnovers against the Pioneers' high-pressure defense.
The Foresters shot 60.9 percent from the floor while Grinnell was at just 37.5 percent. The home team outscored the Pioneers 42-39 on three-pointers and out-rebounded then 43-40.
Grinnell led 18-17 early before a 16-2 run, which included four three-pointers by Porter, put Lake Forest on top for good. The Pioneers eventually cut the lead back down to single digits with 3:54 to play in the half but Porter quickly knocked down a three-pointer and the Foresters closed out the half with a 17-5 run that made the score 58-37 at the break.
The margin grew to as many as 24 points in the second half. Grinnell was able to close to within 12 with a minute-and-a-half left and cut the deficit to 10 on a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining. Two free throws by Porter and one from Moran finished off the scoring.
The victory is the sixth in a row for the Foresters, who improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Midwest Conference play this season. Grinnell fell to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Lake Forest will play its final conference game of the fall semester on Wednesday against visiting Illinois College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
