The Forester men's basketball team edged out Lawrence University 79-78 on a basket with 2.2 seconds on the clock Saturday afternoon.
Lake Forest sophomore wing
Alex Forowycz matched Lawrence's scoring output by himself with 27 points in the game's first 16 minutes and the home team was ahead 46-33 at halftime.
The margin grew to 18 points early in the second half but the Vikings came all the way back and took the lead on a basket with 2:51 to play. A pair of free throws by junior guard
Alex Knight with 2:11 left tied the score and, after the visitors regained the lead on a three-pointer, his field goal with 1:32 remaining made the score 78-77 in favor of Lawrence.
A pair of Vikings missed the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunities down the stretch but the Foresters were unable to take advantage until their final possession. Inbounding with 6.9 seconds to play, the pass went to Forowycz, whose turnaround baseline jumper was off target. The rebound, however, came straight back to him and he connected on his second try with 2.2 second on the clock.
Lawrence's half-court heave at the buzzer was unsuccessful and the Foresters escaped with their third consecutive victory.
Forowycz finished with a career-high 38 points to match the 11th-highest single-game total in team history. He shot 13-for-23 from the field and 7-for-13 from three-point range.
Knight also reached double figures with 14 points and added a team-high nine rebounds. Senior guard
Zach Foster knocked down three of his four attempts from beyond the arc and scored 11. Junior guard
Elijah Bull led the home team with four assists.
Lake Forest shot 45.2 percent from the field and 11-for-22 on three-pointers. The Vikings connected on 65.4 percent of their field goal attempts after halftime and were at 55.8 percent for the game. The Foresters were out-rebounded 34-32 but committed just 10 turnovers to Lawrence's 13.
The victory raised Lake Forest's overall record to 6-14 and Midwest Conference mark to 4-7 while Lawrence fell to 4-16 overall and 2-9 in the league.
The Foresters will host Grinnell College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
