The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team got off to a winning start this season, and at the time of publication, the Foresters were 9-3 overall with a 5-0 conference record.
While the early part of the season has been a success, the season started with an 84-81 loss to Loras College. The score was close for much of the game, and at halftime, the Foresters held a narrow four-point lead over the Duhawks. However, in the second half, Loras outscored Lake Forest 45-38 to take the win. Danny Sotos led the Foresters offense with 19 points and six rebounds. Jordan Moran also turned in a solid performance with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Foresters would bounce back when Lake Forest returned to action. The team picked up back-to-back wins at the Carthage Classic, knocking off Great Lakes Christian College and Carthage. In the first game, Lake Forest claimed a 101-76 victory over Great Lakes. Eric Porter and Luke McDermott each had 17 points for the Foresters. In the second game of the Carthage Classic, Lake Forest ran out 71-65 winners over the host school.
Following the Carthage Classic, Lake Forest opened conference play with a game against the Beloit College Buccaneers. The Foresters took an 84-72 victory. In the game, Sotos scored a game-high 23 points. Porter also had a good game for the Foresters and contributed 17 points and four rebounds.
After a non-conference win over Chicago, Lake Forest returned to Midwest Conference play and won three-straight games over conference rivals. On Dec. 1, Lake Forest hosted Cornell College and earned an 80-55 win. Both teams were evenly matched in the first half and at the break, Lake Forest held a four-point lead. However, in the second half, the Foresters would outscore Cornell 46-25. Next up was a game against Grinnell which Lake Forest won by a score of 104-91.
Following the win over Grinnell, the Foresters took on Illinois College, claiming a 79-62 victory. In the game, Porter led all scorers with 26 points and Espinosa recorded nine assists and 18 points in the win.
Lake Forest then dropped non-conference games against North Park and the University of St. Francis to close out 2017. The Foresters narrowly lost to North Park by a score of 64-59 but were blown out by the Saints, falling 84-55.
After the loss to USF, Lake Forest returned to conference play when the team hosted Monmouth. The Foresters bounced back from the loss to St. Francis, knocking off Monmouth by a score of 72-70. It was the Foresters fifth-straight win in conference play. In the game, Sotos recorded 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Porter also finished the game with 19 points, while Orlando Brown recorded 14 points for Lake Forest.
Toresters' next home game will be Jan. 17, when Lake Forest takes on Lawrence.
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