Freshman guard Jordan Moran came off the bench to lead all players with a season-high 19 points to help lead the Lake Forest College men's basketball team to a 77-46 victory over Cornell College at home on Wednesday. The victory helped the Foresters clinch a berth in next weekend's four-team Midwest Conference Tournament.
Moran shot 9-for-12 from the field, banked in his only attempt from three-point range, and pulled down seven rebounds in the contest. Freshman forward Danny Sotos was next on the team with 16 points and grabbed nine boards. Junior forward Jim Schick added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for his league-high 12th double-double of the year while sophomore guard Eric Porter also reached double figures with 10 points.
Lake Forest shot 49.2 percent from the field while limiting Cornell to just 29.8 percent. For the second straight game, the Foresters at least doubled their opponent's rebound total, this time tallying 45 boards to the Rams' 22.
The visitors scored the game's first four points and led 6-3 before a 21-2 run by the Foresters that lasted nearly seven minutes. Lake Forest led by as many as 18 in the opening period and 38-24 at halftime.
The margin was at least 13 throughout the second half and a 12-1 Forester run capped off by two layups and a dunk by Moran put the game out of reach.
Lake Forest improved to 12-9 overall this season and 10-7 in MWC play while Cornell fell to 8-14 overall and 6-11 in the league.
The Foresters clinched their berth in the MWC Tournament when Monmouth College, who entered the evening tied with Lake Forest for fourth place in the standings, was defeated at Illinois College. The Foresters now have a one-game lead over the Fighting Scots and own the tiebreaker, should the teams finish the season with the same record.
Lake Forest will close out the regular season against visiting Carroll Uinversity Saturday afternoon at 1:00. It will be the final home game for Forester senior guard Chase Janer.