JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team came within a single shot of making it a season sweep of Lake Forest College, but a late defensive stand by the Foresters allowed them to hold on for a 92-90 victory over the Blueboys on Senior Day in Sherman Gymnasium. IC falls to 5-18 (3-13 Midwest Conference), while the win for Lake Forest boosts them to third in the MWC at 12-10 (9-6 MWC).
There was very little to separate the two sides on Saturday, but turnovers did play a role. Illinois College played a clean game, committing just nine turnovers, however those led to 15 points for the Foresters. On the other hand, Lake Forest was practically immaculate with one single turnover (an offensive foul) the whole game.
Lake Forest jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest before a pair of threes from
Riley Mehrens helped Illinois College come back to take a 10-9 edge. The first half was tight throughout, but IC led once
Henry Hayer knocked down a triple to give the Blueboys a 32-29 lead. Illinois College had its biggest lead of the day at 44-38 in the final minute of the half before the Foresters closed it to within two at 44-42 going to the break.
Indicative of how evenly these two teams were matched, neither side would lead by more than five points the whole second half. Lake Forest took a 76-71 lead with just under eight minutes to play, but Illinois College rose to the occasion with an 8-0 run to go back in front by three. In the final 90 seconds,
Blake Castonguay willed a three-pointer home to give IC an 88-87 lead. With 30 seconds left, Lake Forest took the lead back on a runout from Aram Arslanian for a layup to put the Foresters back in front.
After an Illinois College turnover, two free throws for Lake Forest made it 91-88 with under 20 seconds left. Mehrens was fouled on the ensuing possession and knocked down both foul shots to trim the deficit to one. After a foul, Lake Forest made one out of two to take a 92-90 advantage. The Blueboys had one final chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds but a deep three-pointer from Mehrens was deflected away as time expired.
Lake Forest's Aidyn Albright led all scorers with 31 in the game. Mehrens led the Blueboys with 21.
Hunter Ottensmeier added 18 and six rebounds, while
Jake Mazrimas had a double-double of 16 points and 11 boards.
Illinois College wraps up its home schedule on Tuesday night, hosting Knox College at 5:30 p.m.
