WS Chronicle

The final day of the Lash/Chronicle tournament did not end the way many figured it would.  All three games played were won by double figures with the most surprising of the bunch being the championship game, in which Parkland easily defeated West Forsyth 66-33.

The defense from both sides seemed to have the upper hand early on due to each team being a bit tentative on offense.  Parkland picked things up in the second quarter and never looked back.  They led 32-17 at the break.

The Mustangs did not let up in the second half as they ratcheted up the intensity on both ends of the floor while West Forsyth was unable to do so.  The lead got up to 30 points in the fourth quarter, and Parkland cruised to victory.

“This feels really awesome but this is all about the kids right now and I am very excited but more than anything I am happy for the kids,” said Parkland head coach Corey Baker.  “I am happy they are able to be called champions. This is a wonderful feeling to see all these kids smiling.

“We knew they were good in transition and we just wanted to slow the ball down a little bit and make them work on defense.  We wanted to take good shots and make good passes,” Baker said.

Brian Lytton, West Forsyth head coach, says his team did not play the way he envisioned prior to tip-off.  He felt as though Parkland exploited some of their weaknesses, which allowed them to take control of the game.

“We didn’t get much out of our press and we could not hold them man-to-man because they spread us out then drove and kicked,” he said.  “They had a really good game plan and we were not ready for it.”

Parkland guard Chase Rorie was named championship game MVP, Tournament MVP along with being named to the All-Tournament team.  He walked away with a handful of hardware but says it was a team effort that got them to the championship.

“This feels great because this is what we were expecting to do and we did it,” Rorie said.  “When Jordan Timmons got moved up, I had to step up because he was a big part of our team.  I think this will give us good momentum by keeping us hyped and focused and make me step up as a player on this team.”

For the third-place game, Number One seeded Walkertown looked to salvage their tournament with a win against last year’s champion Mt. Tabor.

This was a tight game in the beginning, but Mt. Tabor began to dominate in the paint with All-Tournament selection Davis Blackwell scoring at will, leading to a 66-50 win.

In the second half, the Spartans took over the offensive boards and wore down the shorter Wolfpack team.  Walkertown fought hard until the end and was led by All-Tournament selection Bobby Grier.

“We played better as a team today because we were not playing one on five,” said Spartan head coach Kedrick Carpenter.  “We executed better with our offense and we played better defense but we still gave up too many second-chance opportunities.

“We left here with something positive, and our next goal is to win the conference.  We always have room for improvement but the players know I will say something good but I am going to put a but behind it because I want them to ascend to the highest level.”

Walkertown head coach Rodney White felt his team still had a “hangover” from their game the night before.  He says they did not live up to their Number One seed as they expected to.

“Tabor has a good basketball team and they were bigger at all positions,” he said.  “We just didn’t put two games together as we should.  Our guards usually get into the hole easily but they were just too big in the post.”

The first game of the day was the fight for fifth place between Carver and Winston-Salem Prep.  As the host school, Carver wanted to close the tournament out on a high note unfortunately the Phoenix had other ideas.

The game started of well for the Yellowjackets as they only trailed by a point after the first quarter.  Prep then started to assert themselves on the glass and began to stretch the lead.  The Phoenix blew it open in the second leading by 20 points at the half.

Defensive intensity along with offensive execution carried into the second half for Prep.  They extended the lead throughout the half, which led to a 75-44 final.

“For the first time all season long, the whole team showed up and just played four quarters,” said Bebe Patrick, WS Prep head coach.  “We challenged them to play hard and it was a great tournament but just wished we could have had a better outcome.”

Carver head coach Johnathan Stowe felt his team was worn down by the big men from Prep.  He says they were not able to get any easy buckets or run outs like they are used too.

“Hats off to them because they played good defense by forcing turnovers which meant we didn’t have a lot of opportunities to score,” Stowe said.  “We started the tournament off OK but I am proud of my guys.” 

The Chronicle would like to thank their sponsors – Reynolds American Inc., Hanes Brand Inc., Russell’s Funeral Home, Winston-Salem State University and the city of Winston-Salem – for all their effort and support during the tournament.