With District play opening this Friday night, Dec. 2, at Moore County, the Rockets look to use experience gained in a challenging Thanksgiving Tournament as motivation to get back on the winning track. 

The Rockets dealt with a difficult week as they played host to Triple-A Lincoln County, Double-A Livingston Academy, and 6-A Hazel Green, AL at the annual Forrest High School Thanksgiving Tournament. 

On Wednesday night, Forrest led a talented Lincoln County team by 4 at halftime, before the depth and athleticism of the Falcons took over.  The final score was 57-44 and the Rockets were led in scoring by Mark Pope with 13, and Zach Horvath with 12.

Friday afternoon, the Rockets played arguably their best game of the season.  The defensive and rebounding effort was very impressive as Forrest battled with three players over 6'7 from Livingston Academy.  This Double-A powerhouse had been averaging 73 points per game coming into the contest, and the Rockets held them to a season low 51 points.  The final was 51-41 as the leading scorers for the home team were Marshall Hunter and Mark Pope with 11 points each.  Zach Horvath added 10.

Finally, after the week of intense competition weighed heavily on the Rockets, they took on Hazel Green out of Alabama.  Hazel Green finished the tournament at Forrest undefeated as they defeated the Rockets 68-40 in Forrest's most disappointing game of the season.  After trailing by only 5 at the half, 28-23, the Hazel Green attack exploded in the second half as the Rockets struggled to get anything going on the offensive end.  Hazel Green rebounded the ball well, and used a full court press to force several Rocket turnovers.  The pressure that the Rockets were forced to deal with from these three teams will greatly improve the guard play for the rest of the season. 

The next game for the Rockets, as mentioned above, is at Moore County on Fri. Dec. 2.  Check back with forresthoops.com for all of your Forrest Basketball coverage.