WS Chronicle

Fourteen of the best junior varsity teams from around the area came together the week after Christmas for the 2022 David Lash/Chronicle Basketball Tournament.  The tournament ran from December 27 through December 29.

With so many teams involved, the tournament was separated into two separate divisions: The Lash Division and The Chronicle Division, with a champion coming from each division.

The last day of the tournament got off to a weird start.  Parkland and Forsyth Country Day started things off.  Parkland got out to a hot start and led 30-19 at the half.  Unfortunately, there was a power outage in the area surrounding Winston-Salem Prep, so the tournament had to be moved to Carver High School.  To keep on schedule, both teams decided to cancel the rest of the game.

Once things moved over to Carver, W. Stokes and Reagan were the first teams to play.  Both teams were looking to end their tournament on a positive note with a win.  Reagan struck the first blow in the game by taking the early lead.  W. Stokes made a run in the second half to bring the lead down to three in the fourth quarter.  The Raiders quickly regained control and won 55-44.

North Forsyth and Winston-Salem Prep were up next.  The Vikings looked like they were the superior team to start the game.  N. Forsyth led by nine at the half and continued to control the pace to start the second half.  It looked as if Prep ran out of gas but they flipped the switch late in the game to close to within three in the final minute of the game.  N. Forsyth held on to win in the final seconds.

The next consolation game was between Atkins and Carver.  Both teams had one victory and one loss in the tournament.  Atkins jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and looked to be the better team, but Carver was able to answer before the end of the quarter.  The Camels made another run in the second quarter to take an 8-point lead at the half.

Carver fought all the way back and tied things up in the fourth quarter at 33.  The Yellow Jackets didn’t let up and were able to secure the 43-39 win to end their tournament with two wins.

“We played well and showed maturity down the stretch.  We could have folded, and we came back strong and were able to finish through adversity,” said head coach Antwan Clemons.  “I just told them to keep fighting.  We go hard every day and our press is the thing we work on every day in practice and I told them if we speed them up, we will start forcing turnovers and it worked.”

Walkertown and Glenn matched up in the third-place game of Lash division.  Both teams were good enough to be in the championship but ran into superior opponents.  It was a high energy game from the start.  Glenn had the momentum early, however, Walkertown fought back late in the first half to claim a 39-29 lead.  

The Wolfpack maintained a comfortable lead in the second half and overwhelmed Glenn in the fourth quarter.  Walkertown claimed their third-place trophy with a 67-53 win.

“Those guys have played hard since we started the season, so we just wanted to take that same momentum that we had to start the season into today,” said Walkertown head coach Kenny Anderson.  Our key was to pack it in and just make it a tough game for them. 

The first championship game was in the Chronicle division between No. 1 Reynolds and No. 2 Lexington.  Both teams showed why they were seeded as the top two teams in the division.  Reynolds got off to the early start in the game and put Lexington on their heels.  

The Yellow Jackets had an answer and started to cut into the lead.  Reynolds took a double-digit lead going into the half and maintained it throughout the second half.  Lexington had no answers for the Demons and Reynolds was crowned champions of the Chronicle division.

“I told the guys it would be a lot more energy that it was in previous games.  I told them to stay composed and just play Reynolds basketball,” said Ian Henderson, Reynold’s head coach.  “I felt confident in our team and just what we brought to the table.  We just came out and executed again and we came out on top.

“I told them that basketball is a game of runs so at the end of the day when they make their run, we just got to settle down and make a run on them.  This tournament was for our confidence so winning three in a row just gives us the confidence we need.”

The championship game for the Lash division with E. Forsyth and Mt. Tabor was another great game.  It was a low scoring game to start as both teams were a bit nervous to start.  The pace picked up in the second quarter.

Mt. Tabor gave it everything they had but the Eagles were too much for them.  E. Forsyth seized control late in the fourth quarter and had enough in the tank to win the Lash division title 53-44.

“They played good and we played good but at the end of the day we came out on top and that was the plan,” said East Forsyth’s head coach, Jameel Parks.