Box Score
Lake Forest, IL - Two offensive surges by Lake Forest College, one in each half, lifted the Foresters past the Prairie Fire 70-59 in Midwest Conference play.
Knox (1-11, 0-7 MWC) started well, grabbing an 11-3 lead four minutes into the game. Junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois) scored five of the points on a pair of baskets, one of them from beyond the three-point arc. The Foresters (5-6, 3-3 MWC) answered back with an 18-3 run to surge ahead 21-14 at the 10:00 mark of the opening half.
The Prairie Fire scored the next four points to close the gap to 21-18 with just under 9:00 to go, and again after trailing by as many as seven points, trimmed the LFC lead to 29-26 at the 4:02 mark in the first half. The Foresters closed the half with a 5-2 run for a 34-28 lead at the intermission.
Knox was slightly better shooting the basketball than Lake Forest in the first half. The Fire knocked down 10-of-23 from the floor (43.5 percent) while the Foresters hit 13-of-31 shots (42 percent). The difference was three-point shooting -- Lake Forest connected on 6-of-14 from long range compared to 3-of-8 for the Prairie Fire.
The Foresters' shooting heated up in the second half and Knox went cold. LFC made 54 percent of its shots while the Prairie Fire hit on just 34.5 percent and ended the game 20-of-52 (38.5 percent).
Despite the shooting struggles, Knox had a couple of chances to reduce a three point Lake Forest lead to one or a tie. Sophomore Ian Horvath (Addison, Illinois) knocked down a three-point basket with 16:53 to play to inch Knox closer at 36-33. But the Prairie Fire couldn't take advantage on the next two possessions that resulted in a missed shot and a turnover that prompted a timeout at the 15:43 mark.
Lake Forest made the Prairie Fire pay by going on an 11-0 run that extended the lead to 47-33 with 12:24 left in the game. The Foresters held a double-digit lead until junior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, Illinois) made a three-point basket with 2:13 left in the game that drew Knox within eight at 62-54.
Lake Forest was strong at the free throw line down the stretch, sinking 7-of-8 attempts to sew up the victory. The team was just 4-of-8 from the stripe prior to the final 1:30 in the contest. The Foresters finished the game shooting 47 percent from the floor.
Travis Clark recorded a double-double for the hosts with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Roets added 14 points in 10 minutes of play off the bench.
Junior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia) led three Prairie Fire players in double figures with 15 points. Horvath chipped in with 12 and Carlson had 11 points and seven assists.
The loss was the 11th straight for the Fire, who will try again for a Midwest Conference victory Friday night (7:00 p.m.) at home against Beloit College (3-8, 1-4 MWC). The Buccaneers are also struggling. A recent double digit defeat of Beloit by Lawrence University extended the Bucs’ losing streak to four games.
The game at Memorial Gymnasium will be Beloit's fifth straight on the road. The Buccaneers are 0-5 away from home so far this season. Ironically, Beloit's only Midwest Conference win is against #15 nationally ranked St. Norbert College (9-3, 5-2 MWC). The Buccaneers stunned the Green Knights 62-50 December 8 at Beloit.
The Prairie Fire hosts St. Norbert Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The Knights won the first meeting against the Fire 65-42 on December 11 in DePere, Wisconsin.
