Forest outlasts Vanguard

Forest senior forward Isaac Timmons scored a game-high 19 points and junior guard Chandler Davison added 16 to lead the Wildcats to a 74-66 win over long-time rival Vanguard on Thursday night.

Forest, which led the entire game, improved to 13-3 on the season.

“These games are always exciting,” said Wildcats coach Mike Hoffman. “This is my seventh game in this rivalry. They are always fun and something crazy happens every year. It’s always a competitive battle and I’m proud of our guys for stepping up. Our three seniors led the way by scoring 44 of our 74 points. Isaac Timmons, Carson Davison off the bench and Sean Curry, who is our heart and soul, all had big games.”

Vanguard, which lost its fifth in a row, dropped to 6-8 overall.

The game, which was played in front of a packed gym and a raucous crowd, had all the intensity this rivalry deserves from the opening tip. Vanguard forward Michael Jackson scored six of his 10 points in the first quarter, but Forest junior forward Trey Chisolm, who battled foul trouble, had eight of his 11 points and Timmons added four points in the paint to give the Class 6A Wildcats an 18-12 lead heading to the second stanza.

Vanguard’s Derek Singleton scored four of his team-high 15 points and Jackson had a pair of putbacks to keep the Knights close. Forest answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Curry and Timmons scored six points, including a trey from behind the arc at the buzzer, as the Wildcats took a 33-26 lead into halftime.

Both offenses got into high gear in the third period as Vanguard’s Kevin Campbell scored four of his 12 points and Brenden Barber added five to pull the Class 5A Knights closer. Forest didn’t flinch as Curry scored four points on a pair of strong drives to the basket and Timmons added seven points to give the Wildcats a tenuous 54-46 lead heading to the final eight minutes.

Carson Davison drained a 3-pointer from the right baseline to extend the Forest advantage to 61-53 with 2:31 left in the game. Vanguard made one last run as Singelton buried a pair of 3-pointers, but a charging call against the Knights derailed their comeback bid. Three technical fouls were issued to the Vanguard coaching staff for arguing the call a little too strenuously. Chandler Davison converted five of the six free throws to seal the hard-fought victory for the Wildcats.

“These games are always stressful,” said coach Hoffman, who is 6-1 against Vanguard. “It’s a good win and the biggest thing for us is our development.”

Forest, which plays against a talented Sarasota team on Saturday, is enjoying a solid season and the Wildcats are focused on improving each time they step on the court.

“At this point of the season you are who you are,” coach Hoffman said. “We have some things to clean up and some details to fix. We just have to continue to grind and get better.”

Vanguard hosts Trinity Catholic on Saturday.