The Rockets entertained Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) Friday night for the 100-year celebration of Chapel Hill boys basketball and after going to the locker room tied at the half, Forrest wilted in the second half and lost 70-41.

“I didn't do a good job of having the guys focused coming out of halftime on the offensive or defensive end,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “It is something personally I need to do a better job of, especially with only a few games remaining before tournament time.”

“It's something that we are going to get corrected.”

Forrest scored just 13 points in the second half while the Tigers poured in 23 in the third quarter and 19 more in the fourth to cruise to the District 12-AA win.

The Rockets are in last place in the district standings as the regular season winds down before the start of the district tournament at Marshall County.

“I see it as just a bump in the road,” Bishop said. “All teams will have obstacles to overcome throughout a season. I'm more interested in finding out how this team will respond when faced with adversity, and how we will handle that tough second half, as we move forward.”

Forrest fell behind early, trailing 17-9 when Cole Perryman gave the Rockets a lift with a steal and score to end the first quarter behind by six points.

The Tigers held the seven-point lead early in the second period when the Rockets took off, busting off a 9-0 run with back-to-back Spencer McCown buckets, an Andrew Timmons basket, and a 3-pointer by McCown to put Forrest in front 22-20 with 5:13 remaining in the first half.

The lead see sawed back-and-forth with the Rockets leading 28-26 after a late 3-pointer by Cameron Curtis, but a steal and score moments later by Jayden Hernandez tied the game at 28.

Forrest went ice cold from the field at the outset of the second half and the Tigers took advantage with a 10-0 run, capped off by a Corey Greeson bucket in the low post.

McCown scored for Forrest to break the streak, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Kyle Messerly and Jack Smith put the Rockets in a 14-point hole.

MCM increased the lead to 18 points before McCown scored to end the third period with Forrest trailing 51-35.

Forrest’s cold shooting continued as they fell behind by 24 points after a 9-1 MCM run to start the fourth quarter and the Rockets never recovered as the Tigers completed the regular series sweep over Chapel Hill.

“We as a team need to understand that it comes down to how we approach each day in film study, practice, and games,” Bishop said. “If we have any type of slip, then we are doing ourselves a disservice.”

“It's going to take every single person associated with the program to have the necessary approach for us to be successful in the next few weeks.”

Bishop had a stellar career as a Forrest Rockets player before becoming head coach this season and talked about the 100-year celebration and how the Forrest tradition has affected him.

“I credit this program for assisting the development of my core values that I still practice today,” Bishop said. “This program will always personally be special to me as a player, but what I enjoy more than ever is instilling those same core values I learned while playing here and instilling those into my players.’

“We want all of our players associated with our program to reflect on those values and utilize them once they graduate.”

MCM 17 11 23 19-70

Forrest 11 17 7 6-41

Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (70): Jayden Hernandez 13, Kyle Messerly 13, Jack Smith 10, Alec Ingraham 9, Micah Harris 8, Gage Swanson 6, Corey Greeson 4, Alex Perry 4, Fant Smith 3.

Three-Point Goals (9): Messerly 3, Jack Smith 2, Fant Smith, Hernandez, Ingraham, Swanson.

Free Throws (19-for-22): Ingraham 6-for-6, Messerly 4-for-4, Swanson 3-for-3, Hernandez 2-for-4, Harris 2-for-3, Perry 2-for-2.

Forrest (41): Spencer McCown 13, Cameron Curtis 12, Andrew Timmons 6, Cole Perryman 4, Joel Burton 4, Hunter Bennett 2.

Three-Point Goals (3): McCown, Curtis, Timmons.

Free Throws (9-for-20): Curtis 6-for-11, Burton 2-for-3, Timmons 1-for-2, Perryman 0-for-2, McCown 0-for-2.

Halftime Score: Forrest 28, MCM 28.