Foresters Tie Team Record with 14th Consecutive Victory

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The Lake Forest College men's basketball team hosted and defeated Ripon College 83-75 on Saturday. Junior point guard Jeff Beck scored 19 points and added six rebounds and three assists as the Foresters won their program record-tying 14th straight game.

Senior post player Travis Clark led the Foresters with 20 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 8-for-13 from the field, tied for team-high honors with five assists, and added a steal and two blocked shots.

Lake Forest made 12 of 25 shots from three-point range while Ripon was just 2-for-10 in that category. Beck was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and sophomore guard James Stack connected on three of five long range attempts during a 14-point performance. Senior forward Nate Bateman and freshman forward Brian Madson each made a pair of three-pointers and finished with eight points. Bateman also matched Clark with five assists and added three rebounds, three steals, and a pair of blocked shots.

The Foresters shot 51.7 percent from the flolor while the Red Hawks made 44.6 percent of their field goal attempts. The home team, however, converted on just 11 of 18 trips to the foul line while Ripon was 23-for-28. Lake Forest had a 34-31 edge in rebounds but committed 14 of the game's 25 turnovers.

The lead changed hands five times in the game's first 11 minutes. A Beck three-pointer with nine minutes to play int he opening period broke a 20-20 tie and started a 10-0 Forester run that gave the home team the lead for good. The margin reached as many as 13 points but was back to 10 (41-31) at halftime.

Bateman, sophomore guard Jordan Gipson, and Madson made three-pointers early in the second half as the Foresters extended their lead to a game-high 19 points. Ripon chipped away at the deficit and the lead was just seven (62-55) with eight minutes to play. The defference fluctuated between seven and 11 points until a pair of Ripon free throws with just 43 seconds left made the score 80-74. Beck knocked down a pair of free throws four seconds later and Clark connected on one of two with 15 seconds to play to secure the victory.

Lake Forest is now 14-1 overall and 10-0 in Midwest Conference play this season. Ripon fell to 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the league.

The Foresters' 14-game winning streak is tied for the longest in program history, matching the run started during the 1914-15 season and ending early the following year. The 2011-12 team will look to break the tie Wednesday night at Illinois College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00.