The Forester men's basketball team was defeated 69-58 by visiting St. Norbert College in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams Friday night (December 4). Lake Forest fell to 2-4 overall on the season and the Green Knights remained undefeated in five contests.

Forester sophomore post player Travis Clark (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) led the home team with 18 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He shot 9-for-13 from the field and added two assists and a pair of steals. Senior forward Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) and sophomore forward Nate Bateman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) were next on the squad with nine points apiece and Hanley led the home team with four assists.

Lake Forest out-shot its guests 48.1 percent to 38.3 percent from the field. The home team, however, made just two of 13 three-pointers while St. Norbert connected on 10 of 22 attempts from beyond the arc. The Forester shot 6-for-9 and the Knights 13-for-18 from the foul line. St. Norbert pulled down one more rebound (34-33) and committed half as many turnovers (12-6) as Lake Forest.

A 21-7 run by the Knights turned a five-point Forester lead into a nine-point advantage for the visitors with five-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening period. The difference reached as many as 10 points before Lake Forest trimmed it to seven (35-28) at halftime.

Hanley knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the defecit to three points with 18 minutes left by the Foresters would get no closer. St. Norbert responded with an 11-2 run and kept its lead at five or more points the rest of the game. The Knights made 12 of 15 free throws in the final minute-and-a-half to preserve the victory.

The Foresters will host Carroll University tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. A live video webcast, a live radio broadcast, and live stats will be available during the game on the Lake Forest College Athletics Web site.