It’s been several decades since Forrest and Columbia Central have gotten together on the hardwood, but they squared off Friday night at Chapel Hill in the first of a home and away series with the Lions winning big 58-30.

“Columbia Central is a great team and one of the better teams in their district,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “We held them to 58 points after they opened with an 85-point game.”

“We had our opportunities, but missed out on some open shots on the perimeter and at the basket.”

The Rockets (1-1), coming off a season opening win over Huntland, struggled on the offensive end versus the Lions as they managed just three points in the opening period on the first of three 3-pointers in the game for Forrest freshman Brennan Mealer, who was the only Rocket in double figures with 10 points.

The Lions also started off cold with nine points in the first quarter before heating up with a 19-point second period to take a commanding 28-8 halftime lead.

“Their defensive pressure and help side are really elite,” Bishop said. “It is very difficult to get down to a great team.”

“We need to focus on getting more reps in practice when taking open shots and then converting those shots into points.”

Columbia Central (2-0) had nine players tally in the scorebook with Q Martin leading all scorers in the game with 18 points.

Cam Johnson had the hot hand from beyond the 3-point arc, nailing five long bombs for 15 points, Jordan Davis had eight, Carter Sydlowski five, Bubba Perkins four, Omari Franklin three, Quandress Peete and Jacoby Webster had two points apiece, and Hayden Simmons had one point for the Lions.

Andrew Timmons had five points for the Rockets, Walker Herring netted four, CJ Sanchez had one 3-pointer, Deason Jones also had three points, Cole Perryman and Hunter Bennett had a deuce apiece, and Ryan Meglis had one marker.

“I was pleased with the opportunities that we had on the offensive end; we just did not convert them,” Bishop said. “I have all the confidence in the world in my team and I know they are going to work to get things corrected.”

Forrest played a better second half of basketball, matching points with the Lions in the third period before Columbia outscored the Rockets 20-12 in the fourth quarter to cruise to the 28-point win.

The Rockets will try for payback when they travel to Columbia Central on Tuesday December 1 to kick off play after the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I'm extremely thankful to coach a great group of kids on both teams with great assistant coaches as well,” Bishop said. “We play a brand of basketball that is very difficult to match.”

“We like challenges. We are going to improve each day and become the programs we aspire to be and get ourselves prepared for February and March.”

Columbia 9 19 10 20-58

Forrest 3 5 10 12-30

Columbia (58): Q Martin 18, Cam Johnson 15, Jordan Davis 8, Carter Sydlowski 5, Bubba Perkins 4, Omari Franklin 3, Quandress Peete 2, Jacoby Webster 2, Hayden Simmons 1.

Three-Point Goals (9): Johnson 5, Davis 2, Franklin, Perkins.

Free Throws (13-for-15): Martin 6-for-6, Sydlowski 3-for-3, Davis 2-for-2, Perkins 1-for-2, Simmons 1-for-2.

Forrest (30): Brennan Mealer 10, Andrew Timmons 5, Walker Herring 4, CJ Sanchez 3, Deason Jones 3, Cole Perryman 2, Hunter Bennett 2, Ryan Meglis 1.

Three-Point Goals (5): Mealer 3, Timmons, Sanchez.

Free Throws (5-for-12): Perryman 2-for-2, Meglis 1-for-4, Jones 1-for-2, Mealer 1-for-2, Timmons 0-for-2, Herring 0-for-2.

Halftime Score: Columbia Central 28, Forrest 8.