After stunning Nolensville 55-49 in Monday night’s District 12-AA opening round contest, the Forrest Rockets had to get back up and face the tough task of travelling to Unionville to take on the number-two seed Vikings.

After a close first quarter, Community turned it on and rolled to an easy 77-48 win over the Rockets.

“I thought we had a solid first quarter, but then you could tell that our legs started to get a little tired in the second quarter and for the rest of the game,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “We need to have a solid practice on Wednesday and be ready for our game on Thursday.”

Community’s win, plus the upset win by Murfreesboro Central Magnet School at Lewisburg Tuesday night put the Vikings in the home court advantage driver’s seat for Thursday night’s district tournament title game.

The Rockets and the MCHS Tigers play in the district tournament consolation game tomorrow night at Lewisburg.

“It'll be a very tough game, but our team will regroup and have a good practice on Wednesday and be ready for the challenge of playing a good team in Marshall County,” Bishop said.

Both squads hit the road Saturday night for the Region 6-AA opener at either Creek Wood or Fairview, who square off in Thursday night’s District 11-AA title game.

“It will be a tough game for sure in the first round of the region, but we are really focused on how we can improve and how we can have a good game-plan going into our next game on Thursday,” Bishop said.

A Walker Herring three-point play the old-fashioned way to start the game gave Forrest a 3-0 lead and a few possessions later a Deason Jones steal and score made it 7-6 and that was the last time the Rockets led in the contest.

Community outscored the Rockets 11-6 the remainder of the period and worked to increase their lead in to the second stanza, building it to 22 points by the end of the first half.

“They (Community) are a tough matchup because of their transition game,” Bishop said. “They are always looking to push the ball no matter the situation. The scoring runs they can go on can be tough to any team.”

Things didn’t get any better for Forrest in the second half as the Vikings continued to pour it on the Rockets and led 67-33 at the end of the third period.

Both teams substituted liberally in the final quarter as the Vikings cruised to the easy

t 77-48 triumph.

Herring led the Rockets in the scoring column with 17 points, Brennan Mealer had seven, Brenton Burchell and CJ Sanchez added five points apiece, Deason Jones, Tayton Swift, and Hunter Bennett all scored four points, and Andrew Timmons finished with a deuce.

Community’s Evan Petrie led all scorers in the contest with 27 points, Will Reed had 18, and Jackson Bailey was also in double figures with10 points.

Maki Fleming had six points, Stratton Lovorn five, Noah Newkirk four, Braxton Thompson and Corey Paterick had three points apiece and Jacob Cooper added one marker for the Vikings.

Forrest 13 10 10 15-48

Community 17 28 22 10-77

Forrest (48): Walker Herring 17, Brennan Mealer 7, Brenton Burchell 5, CJ Sanchez 5, Deason Jones 4, Tayton Swift 4, Hunter Bennett 4, Andrew Timmons 2.

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

Free Throws (7-for-10): Sanchez 2-for-2, Mealer 2-for-2, Swift 1-for-2, Burchell 1-for-2, Herring 1-for-1, Preston Gentry 0-for-1.

Community (77): Evan Petrie 27, Will Reed 18, Jackson Bailey 10, Maki Fleming 6, Stratton Lovorn 5, Braxton Thompson 3, Corey Paterick 3, Noah Newkirk 4, Jacob Cooper 1.

Three-Point Goals (5): Lovorn, Petrie, Thompson, Paterick, Reed.

Free Throws (22-for-30): Reed 11-for-12, Petrie 6-for-8, Bailey 2-for-2, Newkirk 2-for-2, Cooper 1-for-2, Thompson 0-for-2, Emery Smith 0-for-2.

Halftime Score: Community 45, Forrest 23.