Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 18, 2004
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Move Into Tie for Fourth Place With Triumph at Monmouth
Klos and McDonald each tally game-high 23 points

Greg Klos matched his career-high with 23 points.
MONMOUTH, IL - The Forester men’s basketball team moved significantly closer to earning the fourth and final berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament with an 82-76 overtime victory at Monmouth College on Wednesday (February 18). The triumph raised Lake Forest’s overall record to 12-10 and its MWC mark to 9-6, tying the team with St. Norbert College, who fell to Carroll College on Wednesday, for fourth place. Monmouth is now 8-14 overall and 3-12 in the league.

The Foresters were led by junior forward Eric McDonald (Elk Grove, IL/Elk Grove) and sophomore guard Greg Klos (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North), who each scored a game-high 23 points. McDonald also led all players with 13 rebounds while Klos connected on five of nine three-point field goal attempts.

Sophomore forward Franklyn Beckford (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season. He shot 7-for-12 from the field in the game and leads the team with a .627 shooting percentage this season.

After shooting just 34.4% from the field in the first half, Lake Forest connected on 53.6% of its shots in the second and on all four attempts in overtime, finishing the game with a mark of 46.9%. Monmouth finished the contest at 45.5%. The Foresters also out-rebounded the Fighting Scots 46-29 but committed three more turnovers (13-10) than the home team.

After a three-point play by McDonald gave the visitors a 5-4 lead, Monmouth used a 9-2 run to pull ahead by six and eight straight points later in the half to increase the margin to 13. A 7-2 Forester run to close out the period cut Monmouth’s lead to eight (37-29) at halftime.

The Scots outscored their guests 10-5 to open the second period and again led by 13 with 14:48 to play. Lake Forest chipped away at the lead and a pair of Klos free throws trimmed the Monmouth advantage to 65-60 with 5:05 left on the clock. Beckford converted a three-point play with 1:44 remaining and, after a Scot basket, McDonald hit a pair of shots in the final 69 seconds to send the game into overtime.

Klos nailed a pair of game-tying three-pointers in the extra frame as he, Beckford, and McDonald accounted for all but one of the Foresters’ 15 overtime points. Beckford gave the team the lead for good with a lay-in with 1:42 to go and he and Klos each made a pair of free throws to help put the game away.

Lake Forest will host Lawrence University (19-3, 13-2 MWC), the 16th-ranked team in the country (D3hoops.com) on Saturday (February 21) at 3:00 p.m. A Forester win or a St. Norbert loss at Ripon College Saturday night will clinch Lake Forest’s spot in the conference tourney.

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