The margins between wins and losses on the road in conference play can be very small, and the Lake Forest men's basketball team experienced just that in an 81-75 defeat at Illinois College on Saturday.
 
Senior Alex Knight led the way for Lake Forest (6-10, 3-4 MWC) with 20 points and six assists, with his usual downhill style of play of getting to the rim to create for himself and teammates. Knight shot 8-for-17 from the field, however he struggled at the free-throw line, particularly down the stretch of a close game.
 
The Chicago native was just 1-for-10 for the game from the free-throw line, including going 0-for-6 from the line in the game's final five minutes; conversely, the Blue Boys made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, sinking 85.2 percent of their free throws as a team and outscored the Foresters by 14 points at the free-throw line.
 
After junior Alex Forowycz hit a layup off an assist from Knight to give Lake Forest a 69-67 lead with just over five minutes remaining, the Foresters would struggle to find more offense. Lake Forest scored just three points over a five-minute span that saw a two-point lead turn into a seven-point deficit.
 
Junior Cristian Rodriguez was a strong presence in the paint for Lake Forest. The forward set a new season high with 15 points and added a team-high six rebounds. Saturday marked the fourth time in the last five games that Rodriguez has hit double-digits in scoring.
 
Junior wing Luke Arington continued his run of hot shooting Saturday by drilling 5-of-7 three-point attempts. Saturday marked the second time in his last three games hitting five triples, after an 18-point performance against Cornell College on Jan. 11. The Foresters drained 14 three-pointers as a team, which tied a season high set on Nov. 26 against Dayspring Bible.
 
The Foresters will be back home for their next contest Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. against Beloit College.