Lake Forest College Sports Information
January 13, 2007
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Suffer Pair of One-Point Losses in Conference Play
Ripon and St. Norbert escape Lake Forest with victories


Laird Walker
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team fell twice at home over the weekend (January 12-13) in Midwest Conference play. Ripon College defeated the Foresters 73-72 Friday night and St. Norbert College won 52-51 on Saturday. Lake Forest is now 6-7 overall on the season and 2-4 in league play. Ripon raised its overall record to 7-4 and remained undefeated in five conference games. St. Norbert is 5-8 overall and 4-3 I the MWC.

Senior forward Brad Wehner (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan North) led Lake Forest with 20 points on Friday. He shot 7-for-12 from the field and 6-for-9 from three-point range, falling just one shy of the school record for three-pointers made in a game. Junior forward Laird Walker (Chicago, Ill./Whitney M. Young Magnet) was next on the squad with 19 points and he led the team with eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) led the Foresters with four assists and freshman forward Hoyt Rees (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) had three steals.

Ripon out-shot Lake Forest 55.8-43.6 percent from the field. The Foresters shot 9-for-22 from three-point range and 15-for-19 from the foul line. The Red Hawks made just two of 11 shots from beyond the arc and 13 of 18 free throws. The home team was out-rebounded 30-26 but had fewer turnovers (18-16).

Ripon led by as many as 10 points in the first period and 37-32 at halftime. The Foresters came back and took the lead with 10:46 to play. The home team led by seven before a 9-0 Red Hawk run gave the visitors the edge with 1:44 remaining. Lake Forest trailed by two again before Wehner knocked down a three-pointer with 7.5 seconds left. A Ripon jumper at the buzzer, however, gave the visitors the victory.

Freshman guard Victor Campbell (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) led the Foresters against St. Norbert with a career-high 16 points. He shot 4-for-5 from three-point range in the contest. Walker was next on the team with 14 points and Rees led the squad with six rebounds and three steals.

Lake Forest shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 7-for-17 from three-point range. The Green Knights connected on 45.7 percent of their field goal attempts and shot 10-for-15 from beyond the arc. The Foresters were out-rebounded 29-24 but committed just 11 turnovers while forcing 15 by St. Norbert.

The Foresters knocked down three straight three-pointers late in the first half to take a nine-point lead and held a 26-22 advantage at halftime. The game remained close throughout the second half and the visitors pulled ahead by one with 3:51 to play. Lake Forest regained the lead on a Walker layup but, after a scoreless possession by each team, a St. Norbert jumper with 2:17 to go provided the game’s final points.

Lake Forest will resume league play on the road next weekend (January 19-20). The Foresters will play at Carroll College Friday night at 7:30 and at Ripon College Saturday afternoon at 4:00.

Lake Forest - Ripon Box Score
Lake Forest - St. Norbert Box Score