The Forester men's basketball team hosted and defeated Ripon College 76-70 Friday night (January 22). The victory raised Lake Forest's overall record to 6-8 and Midwest Conference mark to 4-3. The Red Hawks fell to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in league play.

Forester sophomore post player Travis Clark (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) led all players in the game with 28 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 11-for-19 from the field, made each of his six free throws, and added three assists and a pair of steals in his eighth double-double of the season. Senior guard Victor Campbell (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) was the only other Lake Forest player in double figures with 10 points. Freshman guard Jeff Beck (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) scored five points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Senior forward Patrick Hanley (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) also scored five points and dished out a team-high seven assists.

Lake Forest shot 47.4 percent from the field and knocked down 17 of 23 free throws in the contest. The Foresters out-rebounded the visitors 37-34 but committed 17 turnovers while forcing just a dozen Red Hawk miscues.

Ripon led by as many as 13 points in the first half but a 12-2 Forester run late in the period cut the deficit to just two points and the margin was five (44-39) at halftime.

The Foresters fell behind by seven points with 12:47 to play in the game but responded with a 12-2 run that gave them a 59-56 lead with nine minutes left. The score was tied three times down the stretch, the last at 70 with 1:43 on the clock. Clark put the home team ahead for good on a traditional three-point play with 42 seconds remaining and his rebound and free throws with seven seconds to play helped put the game away.

The Foresters will host Beloit College at 5:00 tomorrow evening. A live video webcast, a live radio broadcast, and live stats will be available on the Lake Forest College Athletics Web site during the game.