WS Chronicle

On the second day of the Lash/Chronicle Tournament, there were teams that were fighting to get to the championship, while others were looking to bounce back from day one losses.

The first game of the day was between two teams in the Chronicle Division that lost their opening round games.  Winston-Salem Prep faced off against North Forsyth.  Both teams were coming off of double figure losses and were looking to get on the winning side.

The Phoenix and the Vikings came out of the gates playing as if they both wanted to prove something to their opponent.  The focus during this game was defense as both squads forced turnovers and bad shots.  

The Vikings took a slim lead in the third quarter, but it was the fourth quarter where things became interesting.  The momentum swung multiple times in the fourth until Viking shooting guard Kerry Smith hit several clutches three-point shots to give North Forsyth the lead for good.  The Vikings evened their tournament record at 1-1 with the 49-43 victory, which was their first of the year.

“It feels great to finally get our first win before the new year,” said Cory Baker North Forsyth head coach.  “I just wanted my kids to experience what it felt like to win and kind of learn what it takes to win and just pretty much putting a complete game together.”

The Vikings played with more composure and resilience in their game against Prep down the stretch.  They seemed to shake off the previous days defeat and come into the day with a different mindset.

“Honestly, yesterday we had a rough after game meeting, Baker said.  “I told them they just have to start listening and doing the things that we practice, because a lot of time these kids, you know, they got a lot of people in their ear, so they hear a bunch of different things.  They just kind of got to learn that they can’t do it by themselves, that’s the main thing.

“We have a couple of guys that if we put it all together and we play together then we can be that team you saw today.”

Game two of the day was also a matchup in the Chronicle Division.  It was the first appearance of No. 1 seeded South Stokes due to them having a bye on day one.  The Sauras first game was against No. 4 seed Atkins.  The Camels were riding high after their day one win against Winston-Salem Prep and were hoping for a similar result against the Sauras.

South Stokes took control of the game right from the tip off.  Atkins was off the mark from the field due to the defensive pressure by South Stokes.  That led to a commanding 34-18 lead at halftime for the Sauras.

South Stokes continued to pile it on in the second half and the lead continued to rise.  The Sauras never let off the gas and ended up with a 62-37 victory, showing everyone why they were the No. 1 seed.

“I thought our defense caused a lot of problems, we’ve been working on that for the past week,” said South Stokes head coach Derek Ward.  “When you making teams play defense further out than around the rim, it’s gonna cause problems.  They are gonna take different shots than what they normally take.

“I thought we got our hands on a lot of balls and I thought we rebounded the ball very well and we pushed it on them, and we executed.  I preach doing the small things all the time, boxing out, winning the 50/50 balls and doing what you are supposed to; it’s all effort.

The Sauras put the game out of reach early.  Ward says their goal was to come out and play well from the start of the game.

“I just want us to execute and the boys in a comfortable situation out there and they played hard and I preach that all the time,” he continued.

As the No.2 seed in the Chronicle Division, Lexington also received a first-round bye in the tournament.  Their first game came against Carver who were coming off of a decisive win on day one.

Lexington asserted their will early on in the game.  Carver seemed somewhat shell-shocked by the pressure of the Lexington defensive intensity in the first half.  Lexington led 28-10 at one point in the second quarter, but things changed after halftime.

Carver settled down after intermission and finally went on a run to close the gap.  Carver continued to chip away at Lexington’s lead through solid defense and timely shooting by CJ Ferguson and Markese Tarrant.  Carver feel just short of their comeback attempt, losing 42-38.

“Overall, we came out with the energy that I like, I just want to make sure we are ready to play,” said Curtis Jones Lexington head coach.  “I have such a young team, sometimes they are not ready to play until they get punched in the mouth.

“I didn’t want us to react, I wanted us to be the aggressor.  The first two quarter we did, third quarter I think we looked up at the scoreboard and saw the big lead and relaxed a little bit.  It’s something we have to correct, but that’s the ups and downs of having a young team.”

The first game of the Lash Division on day 2 was with Parkland and Andrews.  Both teams suffered tough losses on the first day of the tournament and were hoping to bounce back.  This game turned out to be one of the closest contested games of the tournament.

Parkland made the first move by getting out to an early 16-8 lead, but things quickly swung in favor of Andrews in the second quarter and by halftime Parkland only held a slim 21-20 lead.  It continued to be a close game well into the second half.

The Mustangs held a small lead that they never relented until the final seconds.  Andrews hit a shot to go up by one with only 9.4 seconds left in the game and would add another free throw seconds later.  With their last possession, Parkland guard Samauri Moses hit a runner from the baseline to tie the game and would hit a free throw to go up one, which would up being the game winner giving them a 38-37 win.

“I knew we were going to come and play a tough Andrews team,” said Parkland head coach Antonio Robinson.  “Size was definitely on their side.

“I just told them to keep their heads in the game and rebound and we will be fine. This is our third time coming back.  These boys right here can get down and they can fight back.  They already knew not to get frustrated, they just chipped away, and we knew we were going to win the game.”

According to Robinson, Moses told him to “give me the ball” in the huddle during that final timeout.  Moses came out and hit the big shot and Robinson said he could not be more proud of him.

Next up in the Lash Division was another matchup of teams that suffered defeats on day one of the tournament.  The Eagles had a close loss against Mt. Tabor and the Demons lost a physical game against Glenn.

East Forsyth was led, as always by their guard play.  If their guards play well then the game normally swings in their favor.  The Eagles played well early, but the momentum swung in favor of the Demons in the second quarter due to the stellar play of Anthony Jordan and Jaylin Murry.

Reynolds briefly took the lead at the end of the third quarter at 37-36.  The Eagles maintained their composure and came storming back with a 14-4 run throughout the quarter.  The Eagles held on in the end to win 51-44.

“I am just proud of them, especially with us down four guys due to covid and out of town, so the other guys are getting some minutes; I’m just proud of them,” said Rodney White East Forsyth head coach.  “We have been struggling all season.  We got 10 freshmen, so we are just trying to figure it out.

“I think they are starting to believe.  Basically, I told them I was proud of them even though we lost the game, I told them I was still proud of the effort they gave.  They came in today like ‘coach we are not losing’ and this is a conference game, so I am just happy.  We were 1-4 now we are 2-4, so this tournament can turn things around for us in the new year.”

One of the more anticipated games of the day was No. 1 seeded Reagan against No. 4 Walkertown in the Lash Division.  The Raiders and the Wolfpack were impressive in their opening round games.  

With both teams being so well coached, it was expected to be a close game.  The teams were tied at 10 after one.  It was the second quarter where the Raiders began separating themselves with their superior athleticism on the wings.  

“Our guys are resilient, they do their best to play the right way and play with each other and I think when it counted, they leaned on their teammates, found open guys, made good passes and strong finishes,” said Reagan head coach JD Oglesby.

It turned into a fast-paced game where the teams were getting up and down the court.  Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, they were unable to convert their scoring opportunities as much as Reagan was able to.  Reagan’s efficiency led to their 42-34 lead in the third quarter.

The Raiders continued to apply pressure on offense and defense that overwhelmed Walkertown down the stretch.  Reagan was able to pull out the 55-43 victory to head to the championship game of the Lash Division.

“That’s a scrappy bunch coming over there,” Oglesby said about Walkertown.  “Kenny (Anderson) is doing a great job with that team.  I told them they weren’t going to quit; they were undefeated coming in today too, so they expected to win, and we had to show them who we were.

“I think a lot of times when you play an unfamiliar opponent, it takes a little time to feel them out and I think that’s what we were doing in the first half.  At halftime in the locker room, the guys talked more than I did.  They knew what they needed to do, they got on each other and they made the plays they needed to make.

Oglesby says he has talked everyday with his team about remaining humble even though they have won a lot of games so far this year.  He says they just like to focus on the next opponent and not look into the future.

The last game of the day was No.1 Mt. Tabor vs. No. 6 Glenn.  The Spartans were coming off a close win against East Forsyth and the Bobcats came in off a physical win against the Demons.

Maybe their day one game took a toll on them, or Mt. Tabor was just that good on day two, but whatever the reason, Glenn did not play their best.  The Spartans looked like the quicker, more energetic team and that showed on the scoreboard.

Before anyone could blink, the Spartans built a double figure lead and did not stop pushing all night long.  When the dust settled, the Spartans walked away with a 54-34 victory.

“I watched the first half last night of the Glenn and Reynolds game and it looked like Glenn was real physical and I knew just looking at them, they lift more weights than we do as a team,” said Mt. Tabor head coach Taylor Rhodes.  “So, our motto all day today was don’t get punked and I preached that when we talked about our game plan before the game.

“We came out and we hit them in the mouth first, which was big, because last night that didn’t happen, we got hit in the mouth first and had to respond.  It was good to build a lead early and our guys stuck to what we planned on doing and I am real proud of them tonight.”

For the championship of the Chronicle Division Lexington will face off against South Stokes and for the championship of the Lash Division, Mt. Tabor will play Reagan.  Day three will also feature the remaining consolation games and the third-place game for each division as well.