Sangamon Sun

Lake Forest, Illinois - In a closely contested Midwest Conference basketball game on Saturday, Lake Forest College secured a narrow victory over Illinois College with a last-second shot. The final score was 78-76 at the Sports & Recreation Center.

Illinois College now holds an overall record of 16-8 and is 9-6 in the conference. Lake Forest improved its record to 11-12 overall and 8-6 in the conference.

The game saw an intense first half where Illinois College initially took a six-point lead. However, Lake Forest responded strongly and at one point led by eight points. Ty Lenhardt's three-pointer allowed Illinois College to take a slim 40-38 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Lake Forest emerged strong, leading by as much as five points twice. Illinois College fought back to gain a three-point advantage before Lake Forest once again took control with a five-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. A late surge by Illinois College put them ahead 72-67. Despite holding a four-point lead with only 45 seconds left, they could not maintain it as Lake Forest scored the final five points of the game, culminating in Alex Knight's decisive jumper with three seconds left. Buzz Ritzel had an opportunity for Illinois College to win it at the buzzer but missed his three-point attempt.

Josh Harris stood out for Illinois College with a game-high of 26 points and secured 11 rebounds. Lenhardt contributed 16 points while Ritzel added another 14 points. Seth Doss also performed well, achieving a double-double with ten points and eight rebounds.

Illinois College has won nine of its last thirteen games and boasts an impressive track record in recent seasons, winning significant numbers of their previous games both overall and within their conference.

Looking ahead, Illinois College will face Knox in their regular season finale at Sherman Gymnasium on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.