From University of Chicago Athletics

The University of Chicago men's basketball team scored the first points and never trailed on Saturday afternoon to earn a 78-68 victory at Lake Forest College.

The Maroons improved to 1-1 while the Foresters dropped to 0-2.

Junior forward Waller Perez swished a jump shot on the opening possession, and after a brief tie at 2-2, UChicago took over. Lake Forest went six minutes without a field goal, allowing the visitors to build a 14-4 lead. All five starters tallied points in that time. The Maroons maintained an advantage of at least four points for the rest of the half.

The first half wrapped up with UChicago holding a 34-29 edge. The Maroons shot 55.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes, with nine points from junior forward Collin Barthel and eight points from Perez.

Perez converted an and-one, three-point play to push the margin to 41-33. Seven-straight Forester points trimmed the deficit to a single point. The game remained nip and tuck from there. LFC's Danny Sotos tallied 10-straight points for his side to keep the hosts within three points at 68-65. UChicago sophomore guard Noah Karras immediately answered on the other end with a three-pointer. Barthel made six of eight free throws over the final 61 seconds to lock down the win.

UChicago's final field-goal percentage stood at 49.1 percent compared to 45.9 percent from Lake Forest. Rebounds were even at 36 for each side. The Maroons converted four more three-pointers and six more free throws in the contest.

Barthel's 20 points established a new career high for the junior. Senior guard Tyler Howard was efficient with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Karras and Perez posted 13 points apiece. Senior forward Blaine Crawford grabbed 10 rebounds to go with six points.