Forest beats Vanguard for county championship
Chisolm paces Wildcats past Knights for Marion Athletic Conference title.
When the final buzzer sounded on Friday night, the Forest Wildcats were crowned Marion Athletic Conference champions after dispatching Vanguard by a score of 59-47. The three-day tournament for all of the public high schools in Marion County had plenty of excitement, including the championship game.
The contest was close from the opening tip until the final few minutes as Forest, behind a game-high 22 points from junior guard Trey Chisolm, improved to 15-4 on the season. The win was the second in eight days for the Wildcats over the Knights.
“We set some goals at the beginning of the season and being county champs has been our number one goal,” said Forest coach Mike Hoffman. “I’m happy for the kids. This is the first step in the process and our next goal is districts. Trey Chisolm is a good ballplayer and is a dude I’ve been grooming for a while now. We turned him into a point guard, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Vanguard, which saw its record drop to 9-9, came out strong to open the game as Kevin Campbell scored six of his team-high 10 points and Brenden Barber drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Knights a 15-13 lead heading to the second quarter.
Forest answered with a run sparked by freshman guard Tico Smith, who scored eight of his 16 points, including a pair of long 3-pointers, to help the Wildcats take a slim 28-26 lead into halftime.
Vanguard hung tough as Derek Singleton scored four of his nine points and Dylan Harris added a pair of baskets in the paint. Forest found the range from behind the arc as Chisolm knocked down a 3-pointer and junior guard Chandler Davison drilled a pair of treys as the Wildcats extended their lead to 43-36 heading to the final eight minutes.
The advantage ballooned to 10 points before Vanguard’s Barber scored five of his nine points to trim the Knights’ deficit in half. But the 6-foot 4 Chisolm scored six consecutive points, including a pair of spectacular drives to the basket to keep Vanguard at bay.
Down by double digits, the Knights were forced to foul. Forest was able to convert its free throws to seal the hard-fought victory over its cross-town rivals.
The win gives the Wildcats a shot of confidence heading into the final month of the regular season.
“It’s always good to beat Vanguard because it’s a rivalry,” coach Hoffman said. “This is a big win as we head into the home stretch of the season. This is a great group of kids, and our goal is to continue to get better.”