LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team missed a potential game-winning jumper in the final seconds, and Lake Forest College hung on for a 66-65 victory on Saturday.
Lawrence (2-3, 1-1 MWC) was led by sophomore guard Chris Siebert, who scored 18 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Tyler Crisman added 14 points for the Vikings, and Conor Klusendorf had 12 points and five boards.
Travis Clark paced Lake Forest (5-1, 3-0) with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Drew Grennell also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Foresters.
In a game that featured 13 lead changes and five ties, Lawrence trailed 61-55 when the Vikings scored seven consecutive points. Klusendorf hit a pair of free throws, Crisman followed with a layup and Siebert then drilled a 3-pointer to give Lawrence a 62-61 lead with 2:27 left.
James Stack countered with a 3-pointer for the Foresters, and Lake Forest led 64-62. Crisman made one free throw with 54 seconds left but missed the second to allow Lake Forest to lead 64-63.
Clark then put back his own miss to give the Foresters a 66-63 edge. Crisman countered with a layup with 18 seconds left to trim the lead to 66-65.
The Vikings fouled Clark with 15 seconds left and he missed the front end of the bonus. Lawrence rebounded, but Crisman’s jumper with five seconds left was off the mark. Lake Forest grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
The game also marked the most significant action of the season for newcomer Tyler Mazur. The Lawrence football star joined the team after his fall season ended but had played sparingly to this point. Mazur scored nine points, all on 3-pointers, in 11 minutes of action.
Lawrence returns to action on Dec. 13 when it hosts Knox College.