The FMS Rockets were true to their second seed in the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament, convincingly beating Community 40-31 in Thursday night's semifinal before falling 40-25 to Liberty in Saturday's championship game in Chapel Hill.

"What a season, I loved it," said FMS head coach Randy Toombs. "The guys were very coachable, respectful, and bought into the team philosophy. These are some hard working and dedicated young men and the parents were one of the best groups I have ever had. They were supportive and always willing to help when asked."

Even after Saturday's loss, the Rockets sport an impressive 14-5 record and have had a solid season that is not over yet.

"When you can look back and see the positive growth of these young men as players and students, it makes coaching fun," said Toombs.

Semifinal

In Thursday's semifinal, Community had some upset hopes, leading 11-10 after the first eight minutes and 20-17 at the half.

The Rockets stormed back in the third quarter, outscoring the Vikings 9-0 with Jacob Rich starting the rally with a three-pointer that tied the game at 20.

Dylan Jones, Rich, and Alex Huey would all score near the end of the third period and the Rockets took a 26-20 into the final eight minutes.

Community tried to fight back, cutting the lead to four points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter before a Ty Hengesbach bucket started a seven-point rally that sunk the Vikings.

Rich ended the rally by sinking one free throw with a minute left in the game, boosting the FMS lead to 11 points.

Community would not come back as time waned short and FMS was on the way to the World Tournament Championship game against the Patriots, via the nine-point win over Unionville.

Rich poured in 17 points to lead all scorers in the semifinal, while Jones netted 10, Hengesbach scored eight, Dustin Brashear tallied three points, and Huey ended up with two.

Title clash

The Rockets and Pats battled in the first quarter of the title tilt with Liberty eking out a 7-5 lead.

In quarter number two, the Patriots took off, outscoring the Rockets 13-4 to increase their lead to 20-9 at the half.

FMS rallied in the third quarter as Rich scorched the nets for nine points, including a three-pointer.

Hengesbach added a free throw for the Rockets, who still trailed 28-19, entering the final eight minutes of tournament action in Chapel Hill.

Liberty doubled up the Rockets in the stanza, outscoring FMS 12-6 to take home the win and take the hardware to Bedford County.

Rich led the way in the scoring column once again in the contest with 18 points, while Jones added a half dozen, and Hengesbach scored one point.

"Ever since I've taken over the middle school team, we have tried to prepare them for the next level," said Toombs. "I am consistently reminding them that it keeps getting faster and stronger with each level you move up and I feel this group will be fine at that next level."

More to come

For the first time in a while, the Rockets will continue playing after the World Tournament as they travel to Hohenwald to participate in the Lewis County Middle School Tournament on Dec. 14, 16, and 17.

"This next tourney will be somewhat of a reward where the younger kids will get to play a lot," said Toombs. "I am sure we will be successful there as well, because this group has always responded well after a tough loss."