The Lake Forest College men's basketball team was defeated 81-61 at Illinois Wesleyan University on Sunday.
The Titans scored the first nine points of the afternoon and led throughout the contest. The Foresters closed to within two at 18-16 and again at 21-19 and trailed by just three (33-30) at halftime.
Lake Forest stayed close early in the second have and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Rocco Ronzio with 15:32 remaining made the score 45-40. A 13-2 run by the home team, however, extended the lead to double figures and it remained there the rest of the contest.
Senior guard Sean Espinosa led the Foresters with 18 points and five assists and added six rebounds. Ronzio was next on the squad with 11 points while junior forward Johnny Roeser finished with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Lake Forest shot just 36.1 percent from the field while the Titans were at 42.2. Illinois Wesleyan outscored the Foresters 27-24 on three-pointers and 16-9 at the foul line and had a slight 45-41 edge in rounds.
The loss was the second in as many games for the Foresters this year while Sunday's contest was the season-opener for the Titans, who are ranked fourth in the nation in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25.
Lake Forest will be in action again Wednesday night at North Park University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00.
