WS Chronicle

After all the presents were opened, all the holiday dinners were eaten, and other gatherings were over last week, hundreds flocked to Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy and Carver High School for the  David Lash/Chronicle Tournament.

The tournament, which was held Dec. 27-29, featured 15 of the best JV basketball teams in the Triad battling out in two separate divisions. 

For more than 20 years “The Lash” has been the place to be during the week of Christmas to see the future of high school basketball in the area and this year’s tournament was arguably one of the best in recent history. On the first day of the tournament, four games were decided by five points or less. In three of the opening round games, the higher seed upset a lower seed. And one of the teams came into the tournament without a win and made it to the championship game in their division. 

The first round of the tournament was played at W-S Prep beginning with teams competing in The Chronicle Division. In the first game of the day, (No. 5) W-S Prep took on (No. 4) Lexington. This game was probably the most thrilling game of the tournament. There were at least five lead changes in the second half alone. In the end, W-S Prep was able to pull out the 43-41 win on a buzzer beater at the end of the game. 

In the second game, the (No. 2) Forsyth Country Day Furies took on the (No. 7) Glenn Bobcats. Although the Furies held the lead throughout most of the game, including a seven point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were able to turn it on late in the game and pull off the upset 61-57.

The next game featured (No. 3) North Forsyth and (No. 6) College Prep and Leadership Academy (CPLA). North battled hard throughout the game, but CPLA came away with the win 43-38.

The first round of the Lash Division began with (No. 1) Reagan taking on (No. 8) East Forsyth. At the start Reagan jumped out to 11-2 behind a strong full court press and never looked back. Regan defeated East 48-31.

In the second game in the Lash Division (No. 4) Mount Tabor played against (No. 5) Parkland. At halftime Mount Tabor led by only one point, but by the end of the third quarter the Spartans had extended that lead to 18. At the final buzzer the Spartans defeated the Mustangs 67-52. 

The matchup between (No. 2) West Stokes and (No. 7) Reynolds was another close one with several lead changes, but in the end Reynolds pulled out the 44-36 win to advance to the second round. 

The most competitive game of the opening round was also the last game of the day, (No. 3) West Forsyth Titans vs. (No. 6) Walkertown Wolfpack. At halftime West led 35-24 and it seemed like they had too many offensive weapons for the Wolfpack. But it seemed as if a different Walkertown team came out to start the third quarter and they were able cut the lead to only two points. In the end the Titans were able to hold off the Wolfpack 74-70

On the second day of the tournament, games in the Lash Division were held at W-S Prep and games in The Chronicle Division were held at Carver High School. 

In the semi-final matchups in the Lash Division, (No.4) Mount Tabor defeated (No. 1) Reagan 52-44 and (No. 3) West Forsyth defeated (No. 7) Reynolds 73-59. 

The semi-final games in The Chronicle Division, (No. 1) Carver, who had a first round bye, faced off against conference rival (No. 5) W-S Prep, and (No. 7) Glenn vs. (No. 6) College Prep & Leadership Academy (CPLA). Carver defeated Prep 72-63 and Glenn advanced by beating CPLA 61-46.

The second day of the tournament set the stage for an exciting final day with West Forsyth and Mount Tabor battling for the championship in the Lash Division and Carver and Glenn dueling for the title in the The Chronicle Division.