MONMOUTH, ILL. The Monmouth College men's basketball team put three players in double figures but couldn't hold the lead in a 78-76 home loss to Lake Forest on Wednesday. Monmouth (2-12, 1-5) had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but the putback of a missed free throw hit the rim.
The Scots got off to a quick start with baskets from Jonathan Oradiegwu (RIchmond, Texas) and Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois). Amyas Njoku (Los Angeles, California) and Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois) both hit 3-pointers as Monmouth built a 17-9 lead.
Lake Forest called timeout and made a mini run as Sean Espinosa and Johnny Roeser connected on baskets. Leading 23-20 the Scots got a basket from Metcalf and a 3-pointer from Brasfield for an eight-point lead. Will Ewald (Lincoln, Illinois) buried a 3-pointer to give the Scots a 31-20 lead and an 8-0 run.
A 3-pointer from Oradiegwu pushed the lead to 13 for the first time at 38-25. Lake Forest went on a 5-0 run before the Scots hit a pair of free throws. Ewald put Monmouth up 42-32 with a basket before the Foresters hit the last basket of the half for a 42-34 halftime score.