Senior forward Cristian Rodriguez scored 28 points and secured nine rebounds, as the Lake Forest men's basketball team extended its winning streak with a gritty 69-61 win over Beloit College on Tuesday.
 
The scoring output brought Rodriguez to 1,004 points for his career, after starting his career with two seasons at Schreiner University. The senior from Somerset, Texas, used his blend of power and speed in the post to give the Buccaneers defense fits all night. Lake Forest has now won seven consecutive games. 
 
With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, Rodriguez backed his man down from the wing, drove baseline to his left, before spinning back to middle of the floor for a right-handed hook shot that swished through to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone.
 
Alex Forowycz added 11 points and grabbed six rebounds; the senior from Lake Forest, Ill., also had three blocks on the night, setting a new career high. Junior Coltrane Marchand added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Foresters (10-5, 5-1 MWC).
 
Lake Forest shot just 36.1 percent from the field, making 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from the three-point line, and 20-of-29 from the free-throw line.
 
The Foresters relied upon tough defense to secure the victory against a Buccaneers team that refused to go away. Beloit shot 34.4 percent from the field and was ineffective from behind the three-point line, making only 3-of-23 (13 percent) from the three-point line.
 
Both teams were sluggish out of the gate offensively. Lake Forest was held scoreless for more than four minutes to start the game and didn't make its first field goal until a Rodriguez layup broke the ice more than seven minutes into the game.
 
Rodriguez compiled nine points and six rebounds in the first half alone, while Forowycz hit both of his three-point attempts in the first half, scoring eight points before intermission.
 
Despite the slow start, the Foresters found their footing as the opening half went on. Lake Forest took a four-point lead into halftime, utilizing a 12-4 run to conclude the period; it was the Foresters' senior duo of Forowycz and Rodriguez doing most of the damage by scoring 11 of 12 Lake Forest points in the run.
 
Lake Forest will look to keep its winning streak rolling in its next outing on Saturday. The Foresters will face off against the Prairie Fire of Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.