Lake Forest pulls away late to top Vikings

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team pulled away in the final eight minutes Saturday and topped Lawrence University 79-55 in the Midwest Conference regular-season finale.

The win pushed Lake Forest into the four-team MWC Tournament and eliminated the Vikings.

Mike Rueffer paced Lake Forest (13-10, 11-7 MWC) with 16 points, and Jordan Moran added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Ben Peterson came off the bench to lead Lawrence (9-13, 10-8) with 13 points, and Connor Weas added nine points. Jeremy Stephani, Evan McLaughlin and Mitch Willer chipped in with seven points apiece for the Vikings.

Lake Forest led by nine when the Foresters scored 19 consecutive points to bury the Vikings. Rueffer scored nine points during the outburst that pushed Lake Forest’s lead to 79-51 with 1:14 remaining. Lawrence went 0-for-9 from the floor during that stretch.

Box score