Foresters’ Comeback Effort Falls Short in MWC Tournament Semifinals
Wehner leads team with 16 points 
  

Brad Wehner led the Foresters with a career-high 16 points.

Freshman guard Brad Wehner (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan North) gave the Foresters a spark off the bench and led the visitors with a career-high 16 points. He shot 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, added six rebounds, and did not commit a turnover in 30 minutes of play.

Junior forward Eric McDonald (Elk Grove, IL/Elk Grove) was next on the team with a dozen points. Sophomore forward Franklyn Beckford (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) recorded his 10th double-double of the year with 11 points and as many rebounds. Beckford, the squad’s leader in scoring and rebounding, shot 5-for-6 from the floor in the game and finished the season with a .629 field goal percentage, the second-highest mark in the program’s history.

The Foresters shot 53.3 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three-point range, and 73.3 percent from the free throw line in the game. All three marks were higher than Lawrence’s 42.9, 16.7, and 65.4 percent, respectively. The visitors also out-rebounded the Vikings 32-28 but committed 14 turnovers while forcing just three by the home team, whose other statistical advantage came at the free throw line, where Lawrence attempted 25 free throws, 11 more than Lake Forest.

The Vikings scored the game’s first four points and never relinquished their lead. The advantage was in double-figures for a good portion of the first half and grew to as many as 15 points (23-8) at the period’s halfway mark. The Foresters chipped away at the lead and trailed by just eight (34-26) at intermission.

The teams traded baskets early in the second half until a 6-0 Lake Forest run cut the margin to just four points (44-40) with less than 11 minutes to play. The lead fluctuated between three and seven points until a pair of Lawrence free throws increased it to eight (61-53) with just under three minutes remaining. The Foresters trimmed the home team’s advantage to three points twice in the final minute but could get no closer as the Vikings sank enough free throws to hold off the comeback bid.

Box Score