After getting swept in the non-region season series last year, the Forrest Rockets dropped their third game in a row to longtime rival Cascade Friday night at Chapel Hill.

“We played well in spurts of the game, but I need to be doing a better job of getting the guys to play with more effort and toughness throughout the entirety of the game,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said.

The Rockets lost 55-43, but were in the game and had a chance to win as late as midway through the fourth quarter.

“We did not quit, which I'm proud of, but I thought we could've been in a better situation in the fourth quarter if we could've started the first half in a better fashion,” Bishop said. “I need to do a better job of getting the guys ready to roll early in games.”

The Champions took an early and held on to it, doubling up the Rockets 14-7 in the first period with Forrest freshman Brennan Mealer scoring six out of the seven points on a pair of 3-pointers.

Mealer finished as the game’s high scorer with all 18 of his points coming via the long distance route.

“Brennan Mealer is doing a solid job in what we are asking him to do,” Bishop said. “Every game, he is getting used to the overall speed of the game and handling it well for being his age.”

“We want to continue to put him in situations in which he can succeed and help us at the same time.”

The Rockets began to chip into the Cascade lead early in the second quarter behind an 8-2 run that was capped off by a Walker Herring rebound and put-back to make it 16-15 midway through the period.

A Lucas Clanton 3-pointer for Cascade ended the Forrest run and another Clanton field goal gave the Champions a 21-15 lead, forcing a Rockets’ timeout with 3:32 remaining in the first half.

Cole Perryman scored out of the stoppage for Forrest on a rebound and put-back, but the Champions would not budge, leading 25-19 when Mealer tightened it up with 3-pointer with just a few seconds left in the first half, making it a 25-22 contest at the break.

“We thought we responded well in the second quarter to get us back into the game,” Bishop said. “I thought our defensive effort improved from the first quarter, which allowed us to cut into their lead and play with some confidence.”

Early in the third period, the Champions led 28-22 when CJ Sanchez drilled a 3-pointer and after two missed free throws by Cascade, Mealer made it a one-point game with a long bomb from the top of the key.

Seth Countess and Herring traded inside buckets before Perryman scored on a flying one-hander to the hoop off a fast break to put the Rockets in front for the first time since their second possession of the game.

“Cole Perryman plays hard no matter the situation and it's contagious,” Bishop said. “He's one of those players who always brings leadership and energy that usually provides a spark. I'm glad he's on our side.”

There was no scoring for the next two minutes before Perryman went deep to give the Rockets a 35-31 lead until Izzy Batts nailed two free throws for Cascade to make it a 35-33 contest, entering the fourth quarter.

The Champions came out smoking to begin the final period, going on a 9-0 run to put the Rockets in a 42-35 hole.

Mealer nailed his final 3-pointer of the game to make it a four-point contest, but that would be as close as the Rockets (2-5) would get for the remainder of the game as Cascade (1-3) closed with a 13-5 run to capture its first win of the season.

Sanchez finished with nine points, Perryman netted seven, Herring had six points in the low post, Deason Jones added two points, and Andrew Timmons had one marker.

“We thought we had pretty solid scoring across the board, but we also look at other things besides scoring,” Bishop said. “I thought it was impressive to draw four charges throughout the game and have a couple of offensive rebounds that led to us scoring on a few possessions.”

“Those are things that go unnoticed in a game, but turn out to be huge for us.”

The Rockets have to improve on their free throw shooting to gain a lot of those free points that could put them in better positions at the end of ballgames.

Forrest shot 50 percent from the free throw line on Friday.

“We strive to shoot 70 percent from the free throw line every game, and shooting 50 percent is not going to win a lot of ball games,” Bishop said. “Free throw shooting is muscle memory. We need to be making this more of an emphasis every day at practice or when the guys are practicing on their own.”

The Rockets have a tough stretch of games before Christmas break, beginning with a home game versus Summertown on Tuesday.

Then travel to Moore County, host Lawrence County, and travel to Huntland and Cascade before finishing up with a home game versus Sycamore on December 21.

Forrest does not open District 12-AA play until January 15, 2021 when they host Community in a Friday night clash.

“We need to continue to improve on every aspect of our game,” Bishop said. “From a team perspective, to an individual perspective, and from a coaching perspective.”

“Our eyes are on the district portion of our schedule and ensuring we are ready for that portion of the season.”

Cascade 14 11 10 20-55

Forrest 7 15 13 8-43

Cascade (55): Ethan Swan 13, Izzy Batts 10, Jackson Davis 9, Lucas Clanton 8, Seth Countess 7, Landon Lane 6, Alex Allison 2.

Three-Point Goals (5): Clanton 2, Lane, Swan, Davis.

Free Throws (16-for-27): Batts 8-for-8, Lane 3-for-4, Swan 2-for-4, Davis 2-for-4, Countess 1-for-4, Clanton 0-for-2, Allison 0-for-1.

Forrest (43): Brennan Mealer 18, CJ Sanchez 9, Cole Perryman 7, Walker Herring 6, Deason Jones 2, Andrew Timmons 1.

Three-Point Goals (8): Mealer 6, Perryman, Sanchez.

Free Throws (7-for-14): Sanchez 4-for-6, Jones 2-for-6, Timmons 1-for-2.

Halftime Score: Cascade 25, Forrest 22.