Lake Forest College Sports Information
November 18, 2007
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Fall Twice at Highly-Competitive Midway Classic
Laird Walker named to all-tournament team

Laird Walker
CHICAGO, Ill. - The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team opened the 2007-08 season at the the University of Chicago’s Midway Classic over the weekend (November 17-18). The Foresters fell 70-59 to the hosts Saturday night and 56-42 to Ohio Wesleyan University on Sunday. Both opponents began the year listed among the others receiving votes in D3hoops.com’s national preseason poll.

Senior Laird Walker (Chicago, Ill./Whitney M. Young Magnet) led all players and matched his career-high with 22 points against Chicago. He shot 7-for-13 from the field and 8-for-11 from the foul line. Sophomore Hoyt Rees (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) also reached double figures with 10 points and junior Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) led the squad with six rebounds and five assists.

Lake Forest shot 41.1 percent from the field, 2-for-14 from three-point range, and 11-for-16 from the free throw line. Chicago was 44.2 percent from the floor, 6-for-19 from beyond the arc, and 26-for-31 from the foul line. Lake Forest was out-rebounded 32-24 but committed just 16 turnovers while forcing 21.

Chicago never trailed in the contest. The game was tied at 19 before the Maroons used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. The score was 40-29 at halftime and the margin reached 18 points early in the second half. A 17-5 Lake Forest run made the score 52-46 with 10:17 left but the Foresters would get no closer.

Rees led the team with 14 points and added nine rebounds against Ohio Wesleyan on Sunday. Walker recorded his seventh career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 14 boards.

A difficult second half dropped the Foresters’ shooting percentage for the game to .364 and the team shot 3-for-18 from three-point range and 7-for-10 from the line. Ohio Wesleyan made 31.6 percent of its field goal attempts, including 10- of 28 from beyond the arc, and shot 10-for-14 from the foul line. Lake Forest out-rebounded the Battling Bishops 37-30 but committed 22 turnovers while forcing just nine.

An 11-0 Forester run in the first half put the team ahead by a dozen (22-10) and Lake Forest led 31-23 at intermission. Ohio Wesleyan outscored the Foresters 22-2 in the first 11 minutes of the second period and led by at least 11 points the rest of the way.

Walker was named to the all-tournament team after amassing 33 points and 18 rebounds on the weekend.

The Foresters will play their first home game of the season Wednesday (November 21) night at 7:00 against Edgewood College.

Lake Forest - Chicago Box Score
Lake Forest - Ohio Wesleyan Box Score