WS Chronicle

The first day of the 2019 Lash/Chronicle Tournament provided a full day of action from 12 teams in the field. Walkertown and Atkins were given byes as the top two seeds in the Chronicle Division, but they will have some tough competition as the tournament continues.

The first two games of the day were in the Chronicle Division. First up was Carver versus North Forsyth.  The game got off to a slow start as both teams seemed to be rushing plays on the offensive end. Carver then got out in transition to score some easy buckets, while the Vikings hit some timely threes to keep the game close.

Both squads played tough defense throughout the first half, which kept the score low. North Forsyth held a slim 22-21 at the half. The two teams played one another the day before the tournament started, so it was expected to be a tough game to start.

“We had to pick up the intensity,” said Viking head coach Jeffrey Perry. “We had played those guys last night, they knew what we could do, we knew what they could do, but we just lacked intensity.”

The Vikings came out of the half with a different attitude. They turned up the defensive pressure, causing several turnovers by the Yellowjackets, leading to easy scores on the other end. Justin Covington of North Forsyth also got hot from three-point land to further extend the lead.

The Vikings continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter to pull out the 55-35 victory. 

“Once we went into the locker room and said what we need to do as far as aggression, we turned it on and that made the difference in the game, along with the full court press,” Perry said. “We just had to man-up and play defense; they were taught to play defense.”

Perry praised Covington for his stellar play in the second half. Perry feels Covington is a varsity level player, but is happy he has him on the team.

The second game of the day between T. Wingate Andrews and Lexington was one of the most evenly matched games of the day. The lead swung back and forth between the teams all game, but Lexington made a last second shot by James Comer at the buzzer to win 45-43.

“It was a real grind-it-out win,” said Dionte Watie, Lexington head coach. “We made some mistakes, but luckily we stuck with it and fought through for the win. I think testing us this early in the season is going to help us, because we are going to see some really good teams, we just saw one today. We are starting to pick up a little momentum and starting to put together complete games, which will help us going forward.

“I was impressed with our poise down the stretch, because we were down by five with about three minutes left and we stuck with it and got some stops and some scores. We must cut down on our turnovers; we turned the ball over too much today and a lot of them were unforced.”

Mt. Tabor looked like a juggernaut against Parkland in the third game of the day. The Spartans came out in a full court press and overwhelmed the Mustangs from the tip. The defensive pressure put on by Mt. Tabor forced a plethora of turnovers leading to easy scores.

The Spartans held a 15-point half-time lead. Tabor did not let up coming out of intermission, only allowing 17 points in the second half, while scoring 33 points themselves. Parkland had no answers for the Spartans and fell by the score of 68-37.

Spartan head coach Kedrick Carpenter hangs his hat on defense and was proud of the effort his team showed Saturday. He said they are not a big team, but with the way they play together, it might be one of the most complete teams he has had during his tenure as head coach.  

Reagan and Forbush were next up on the court. Early in the game, Reagan got out in transition from turnovers or missed baskets to put the Falcon defense on their heels. Not to be outdone, the Falcons made some timely shots to keep them in the game.

Both teams were obviously well coached as constant adjustments were made any time one team made a run. The Falcons took control in the fourth quarter and stopped a late Reagan run to win 49-44.

“We knew Reagan was big, but at the end of the day we have a good core group of kids that have been in this position before,” said Forbush head coach Sam Crews. “They have played a lot of competition in the offseason to prepare them for these types of games.”

Host school Winston-Salem Prep was looking to use their home court advantage against West Forsyth.  

It was an erratic first quarter with both teams making unforced errors, rushed shots and missing easy scoring opportunities. The game slowed down when the Titans went to a zone defense, which caused the Phoenix to run some offensive sets.

Prep took a lead in the second quarter that they never relinquished. Any time the Titans looked to make a run, the Phoenix hit a big shot to swing the momentum in their favor. In the end, Prep won 50-43.

“We just played good, solid Prep team basketball,” said W-S Prep head coach Chad Hicks. “We relied on our defense, but more importantly we were just trying to make them beat us defensively. Basketball is a game of runs and we had to make them beat us by playing by our rules.”

To close out the day, East Forsyth matched up against Reynolds, which turned out to be one of the best games of the day. The Eagles looked to be in control at the start, but Reynolds made some adjustments to make it a close game throughout. East Forsyth made enough plays in the end to win 51-46.

East Forsyth led for most of the game, but Reynolds continued to claw and fight, taking a lead late in the fourth quarter by forcing turnovers. The Eagles got it together late to hold on for the win.

“I thought we got off to a decent start, we got a little sputtered midway through the game, but overall we got the win and I am happy with that,” said Rodney Minor, East Forsyth head coach. “They mixed it up on the defensive and our guys started to get out of rhythm and what we want to do as a team and started to turn the ball over, over rotating on the defensive end and fouling a lot.”