The Lake Forest men's basketball team could not overcome a slow start offensively, as the Foresters dropped their Midwest Conference debut on Saturday to Lawrence University, 88-77.
 
Forward Cristian Rodriguez was dominant on the glass, setting a new career high with 17 rebounds to go with 13 points, two steals, and three blocks. The Somerset, Texas, native shot 5-of-16 from the field and was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line.
 
It marked the second double-double of the season for Rodriguez and his sixth as a Forester since transferring to Lake Forest from Schreiner University before last season.
 
Senior Alex Forowycz was the Foresters' (3-5, 0-1 MWC) leading scorer with 16 points on 4-of-12 shooting, but was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Luke Arington scored 14 points off the bench, while Marko Visnjevac and Coltrane Marchand each reached double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Lake Forest shot a season-low 37.5 percent from the field for the game, and the Foresters' 10 assists as a team also reflected a season low. The difference in the game proved to be outside shooting production, as the Foresters were outscored by 18 points from the three-point line.
 
Lake Forest was outscored 50-33 in the first half and could not find a rhythm offensively. The Foresters shot just 29.4 percent from the field and only 3-of-12 from three-point range in the opening half, while Lawrence (6-1, 1-1 MWC) made a scorching 73.3 percent of their threes before halftime.
 
The Foresters would trim the deficit to get as close as 11 in the second half, after Arington hit all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to bring the score to 67-56 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. But Lake Forest could not cut into the Lawrence lead any further than that down the stretch.
 
The Foresters will have a break for finals week before their next contest. Lake Forest will travel for another conference road game on Dec. 19, as the Foresters will take on Ripon College. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m.