Lake Forest College Sports Information
December 8th, 2001
Contact:  Mike Wajerski, SID

McDonald Scores 50 as Foresters Win in Overtime at Grinnell
Taylor narrowly misses triple-double, Foresters score record 140 points
  

Eric McDonald scored a school record 50 points on Saturday.
GRINNELL, IA - In Midwest Conference men's basketball, victories on the road do not come easily, especially at Grinnell College, where a long drive, rowdy fans, and a completely different style of basketball make winning a difficult task for the visiting team. Not only did the Foresters get the 140-135 overtime victory on Saturday (December 8th), but also set a couple of school records along the way.

Leading the team in scoring for the second time in the last three games was freshman forward Eric McDonald (Elk Grove, IL/Elk Grove), who poured in a school record 50 points. McDonald shot 20-of-22 from the field and 10-of-15 from the free throw line and added a game-high 13 rebounds. The 50 points is seven more than the program's previous high. Tony Banks scored 43 points against North Central College during the 1954-55 season and George Wolz matched that total the following year, also against North Central.

McDonald was not the only Forester to post impressive numbers. Junior guard Lee Taylor (Sheldon, IA/Sheldon) scored 16 points, dished out a dozen assists and pulled down 9 boards to miss a "triple-double" by just one rebound. Senior guard Brian Bruha (Hillsboro, WI/Hillsboro) scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and fellow senior guard Bryan Bertola (Green Bay, WI/Bay Port) added 22 points.

Against Grinnell's all-or-nothing, high-pressure defense, Lake Forest made 54 of 76 field goal attempts (71.1%) and shot 10-for-21 (47.6%) from behind the three-point arc. The 140 points is a new school record, breaking the previous mark of 133 set last year at home against Grinnell.

The Pioneers shot 44.6% from the field and attempted 41 three-point baskets, but connected on just 11 of them (26.8%). The Foresters out-rebounded Grinnell 56-38.

Early in the game, all signs indicated the score would be close. In the first ten minutes of play, there were five ties and ten lead changes. The Foresters used an 11-0 run to open up a nine-point lead (31-22) with just over nine minutes to play in the first half. Grinnell closed the gap to four before nine straight Lake Forest points made it a 13-point margin (40-27) with approximately seven minutes to go before intermission. The halftime score was 58-52 in favor of the visitors.

Grinnell came back to tie the score twice in the first few minutes after halftime and eventually took a four-point lead (81-77) with 13:42 left to play. There were eight more ties and ten more lead changes before the end of the second period, with neither team able to open up any more than a five-point lead. The Foresters scored the final two baskets of regulation, a three-pointer by Bertola and a tip-in by McDonald, to tie the score at 125.

The game was tied at 131 midway through the five-minute overtime period, when Lake Forest scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. The home team cut that lead to three before McDonald sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

The Foresters are now 5-3 overall on the season and 2-0 in the MWC. They will host the University of Chicago on Tuesday (December 11th) evening at 8:00 in their final game of the fall semester.
 

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