The Pioneers began the week with a 79-73 win over 11th ranked Ripon College then blew out Knox College 88-66. Today’s win improves Carroll to 9-3 overall, 4-1 in the MWC. Lake Forest, who entered the weekend undefeated in league play, falls to 4-2 in the MWC, 8-5 overall.
Carroll once again featured a balanced offensive attack, led by sophomore Nathan Drury’s 17 points. Three other Pioneers reached double-figures including senior Ben Hickethier with 16 points, junior Jason Scheper with 15 points and sophomore Paul Toshner with 10. Point guard James Johnson added eight points and a game-high five assists.
After shooting a blistering 59.3% from the field in the first half the Pioneers cooled off in the second half and shot just 34.8%. However, Carroll went to the free-throw line 27 times in the second-half while converting 21 of those attempts. Carroll outscored Lake Forest 22-11 from the free-throw line for the game.
“I thought the first half was a well played game with good tempo,” said head coach David Schultz. “The second half didn’t have any flow and it became more of a bump-and-grind, free-throw game. Fortunately for us, we made our free-throws and were able to keep a very good Lake Forest team at arms length and were able to play from the front.”
The Pioneers return to action Jan. 18 when they travel to Lawrence University to take on the defending MCW champions at 7:30 p.m.
##30##