Coming off an impressive win to notch their first North Suburban Conference victory, the Lake Forest boys basketball team has an even tougher challenge coming this time around. The once looming challenge of obtaining their first conference win won’t be nearly as difficult as knocking off the Waukegan Bulldogs in their home gym tonight. The Scouts are hoping to carry their momentum from Saturday’s win over Mundelein to another win this evening.

Coach Ron Ashlaw’s “Dawgs” come in at 10-7 with a 3-3 conference record. They are coming off a loss to ten-point loss to Warren and a close two-point loss to Stevenson. The Bulldogs were highly touted coming into the year, and were predicted to win the conference. Led by Ja’Dyn, Jordan, and Bryant Brown (not related), Waukegan has the potential to pose serious fits for Lake Forest. Ja’Dyn, Bryant, and Jordan are all juniors at different positions and score nearly all of Waukegan’s points. Coach LaScala’s defensive gameplan must contain the Brown’s in order for the Scouts to secure another win.

Lake Forest will need to rebound the ball extremely well to overcome Waukegan’s athletic prowess. Not a fantastic shooting team, the Dawgs get most of their points from offensive rebounds and putbacks. The Scouts were lucky to get another solid performance from center Mead Payne in their most recent game, who led the team with 13 points. Payne has shown over the course of this season that his performance is crucial to the team’s success. 6’4” forward Ben Gibson has managed to get his fair share of points in each game, and the team has seemed to count on him for his 14-point average. After coming off an IHSA Sectional Final appearance last season, the Bulldogs haven’t lived up to their expectations this season. 

Come out to the “Dawg Pound” at Waukegan High School tonight at 7:00 p.m. to cheer on our Lake Forest boys basketball team in a tight matchup with the Bulldogs.