WS Chronicle

With only seven teams in this year’s field, the competition in the Lash/Chronicle tournament is as  stiff as ever.  The Wolfpack of Walkertown drew the Number One seed, so they were on a bye, but the remaining teams were in full action Saturday night.

Winston-Salem Prep and Parkland kicked off the first game of the day.  As the four and five seeds coming into the tournament, this looked to be a very competitive game. 

Parkland jumped out early on the Phoenix, taking a 20-point lead into the half.  They looked very confident going into the locker room, but 16 minutes still remained in the game.

Prep came out of the locker room as a different team and immediately began chipping away at the lead.  By the end of the third, they only trailed by 11.  The Phoenix continued to fight hard by using their press on defense but eventually fell by the score of 65-57.

Parkland was led in scoring by Jordan Timmons with 31 points, and Chase Rorie chipped in with 18.  The Phoenix were led by Jasen Banner with 16 points.

“We did pretty well and even had a 20-point lead going into halftime but our effort kind of slowed down in the second half so I just want to get the boys to learn to play hard for the entire ballgame,” said Parkland head coach Corey Baker.

Prep head coach BeBe Patrick was disappointed with the loss but feels the fight his team showed in the second half was exactly what he was looking for coming out of the half.

“Tonight didn’t go as planned because we did not show heart all night,” Patrick said.  “Coming out of the half we told them to stop playing for themselves but to play for the name on their chest and some of them stepped up to the challenge while others didn’t.”

Game Two was between Carver and West Forsyth.  As the host school, Carver planned to put on a good show for the home crowd, unfortunately it did not work out that way for the Yellowjackets. 

From the jump ball the Titans swarmed all over the Yellowjackets.  They led by double figures after the first quarter and continued to snowball every quarter to come.  The Titans had four players score in double figures while Carver was led by Devine Bradley with 9 points.

“We couldn’t handle the pressure that West gave us and they had some pretty good guards that we had trouble defending and that was pretty much the story of the game,” said Carver head coach Johnathan Stowe.  “We couldn’t really get a cohesive unit out there that could work defensively, so offensively there was nothing we could do.”

West Forsyth head coach Brian Lytton was happy with his team’s performance Saturday night, saying, “The vision I had for this team is starting to come to fruition.”  He says they are really coming together on the offensive and defensive end.

“It was a point of emphasis to take control of the game in the second half and not let them get back into the game by staying on the gas pedal,” Lytton said.  “We will continue to practice and work hard and when you do those things you tend to play the way you practice.”

Last on the schedule was Mount Tabor and Atkins.  It was a tight ballgame to start due to Atkins hitting clutch outside shots early on.  The Spartans turned up the pressure in the second quarter and began to assert their dominance.  By the half they led by almost 20 points.

The game was out of reach by the end of the third quarter but the Camels never gave up.  They continued to scratch and claw but were outmatched by the Titans.  The Camels were led by David Davenport, who scored 17 points and the Titans were led in scoring by Davis Blackwell, who dropped 19.

“I think tonight was a good test to play harder and with a little more heart,” said Atkins head coach Desmon Baldwin.  “I think we started off pretty well, but as the game went on, they got the better of us.”

Mt. Tabor head coach Kedrick Carpenter added, “As I always say, we can do better, but overall as a team I feel we played good defense.  We will just continue doing what we do and sometimes we play to the level of our opponents, but I think we will be OK.

The Lash/Chronicle tournament will resume Friday, Dec. 29, with the first game tipping off at 4:30 p.m.  The tournament lasts through Saturday, Dec. 30.