Monmouth hit over 60 percent of their shots from the Glennie Gym floor Saturday to shade Lake Forest 86-76.
 
The Scots built a 41-31 first half lead but had to hold off a Foresters surge in the second half. Lake Forest climbed back within one midway through the final 20 minutes, but never took the lead as the Scots hit a blistering 68 percent of their second half shots. Sean Espinosa's jumper cut the Forester deficit to 57-56 with 10:05 left before Monmouth countered with a 14-4 run over the next four minutes.
 
Lake Forest rallied again in the final minutes, but Monmouth again had the answer. Monmouth called a timeout after the Foresters cut the margin to seven at 81-74 with 1:38 left. A Foresters' foul ensued, sending D.J. Swift to the line where he sank both free throws to up the lead to 83-74. Trevor Davis followed with a fast break layup and Tyler Houston – who posted his second double-double of the month with 10 points and 10 rebounds – added a free throw on Monmouth's next two possessions to ice the game.
 
Justin Batterton joined Houston in double figures with a season-high 29 points while Swift added 19.
 
Monmouth begins a two-game road trip next Friday when they travel to Ripon for a 5:30 p.m. tip.