The Forester men's basketball team fell 76-68 to visiting North Central College Tuesday night (December 8). Lake Forest is now 2-6 on the season while the Cardinals raised their record to 4-2.

Four Foresters scored in double figures, led by sophomore post player Travis Clark (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) with 17. He also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, dished out four assists, and blocked a pair of shots. It was his third consecutive double-double and fourth this season. Senior guard Victor Campbell (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) was next on the team with 16 points and freshman guard Jeff Beck (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) and sophomore forward Nate Bateman (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) added 10 points apiece. Bateman and senior forward Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) led all players in the game with four steals and six assists, respectively.

After shooting just 32 percent from the floor in the first half, the Foresters knocked down 45.5 percent of their field goal attempts in the second to finish the game at 39.7. The home team connected on eight of 26 three-pointers and 14 of 23 free throws. North Central shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the first half and 42.1 percent for the game. The Cardinals made five of 12 three-pointers and 23 of 28 foul shots. Lake Forest held a 41-34 edge in rebounds but committed 17 turnovers while forcing just nine.

There were four ties and five lead changes in the game's first eight minutes before the Cardinals went on a 19-0 run to take a commanding 31-13 lead.

Lake Forest outscored the visitors 7-2 to make the score 33-20 at halftime and then scored the first seven points of the second half to pull to within six. North Central extended its lead to double figures again and the difference remained between seven and 13 points until the game's final minute when the Foresters pulled back to within six. They would get no closer, however, as North Central made 14 of 17 free throws in the final two minutes of the game.

The Foresters will host Benedictine University in its final non-conference game of the regular season at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 19. A live video webcast and live stats will be available during the game on the Lake Forest College Athletics Web site.