Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 8, 2003
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Another MWC Weekend Split for the Foresters
Team falls to first-place Lawrence, defeats Carroll
  

Franklyn Beckford shot 80% from the field on the weekend.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The Lake Forest College men's basketball team split a pair of Midwest Conference home games over the weekend (February 7-8). On Friday, the Foresters dropped a 58-53 decision to Lawrence University and, on Saturday, the team defeated Carroll College, 79-62. Lake Forest is now 6-13 overall on the season and 5-7 in MWC play. Friday's win gave Lawrence, the league's first-place team, a 16-3 overall record and 10-2 MWC mark. Carroll fell to 7-12 overall and 5-7 in the league.

The same three Foresters scored in double figures in both games. Senior guard Fred Bell (Mequon, WI/Homestead) tallied 14 points on Friday and a team-high 16 on Saturday on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Freshman forward Franklyn Beckford (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) shot 80% (12-for-15) on the weekend and scored a game-high 15 points against Lawrence and 14 versus Carroll. Sophomore forward Eric McDonald (Elk Grove, IL/Elk Grove) had 11 points on Friday and 15 on Saturday.

Lake Forest held Lawrence to 39.3% (22-of-56) shooting from the field but shot just 37.7% (20-of-53) themselves. The Vikings' 38-32 rebounding edge and 7-2 advantage in three-point field goals proved to be the biggest differences in the teams' statistical lines.

The score was 6-6 after seven minutes of play before a 9-2 run gave Lawrence a seven-point lead. The Foresters scored five straight and cut the lead to two again later in the first half, which ended with the Vikings ahead 29-20. Lawrence led 33-22 before a 13-0 Lake Forest run gave the home team a 35-33 advantage with less than 14 minutes left. Lawrence responded with 13 consecutive points of their own to regain the 11-point (46-35) three minutes later. The Foresters cut the margin to three points (53-50) with a minute-and-a-half to play but could get no closer.

Aside from 23 turnovers, Lake Forest played its best game of the season on Saturday. The team shot 65% (26-of-40) from the field and held Carroll to just 36.1% (22-of-61). The Foresters also nearly doubled (40-21) the Pioneers' rebound total. Lake Forest also made four of ten three-point attempts and connected on 23 of 30 shots from the free throw line.

The Foresters jumped out to a 19-3 lead and never looked back. The difference was never less than 10 the rest of the first half and reached as high as 20 twice before intermission. Lake Forest went into the locker room at halftime with a 35-19 lead. The margin fluctuated between 13 and 18 points until a 10-1 Pioneer run made the score 49-41 with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining. The home team responded with nine straight points to put the game out of reach.

Lake Forest will host Illinois College (12-8, 8-5 MWC) at 7:30 Wednesday (February 12) night and will travel to Grinnell College (14-5, 9-3) on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game.

Lake Forest - Lawrence Box Score
Lake Forest - Carroll Box Score