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Inside:
Volume 48, Number 18
W I N S TO N - S A L E M , N . C .
THURSDAY, January 6, 2022
Day three of Lash/Chronicle JV basketball tournament crowns champions BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE
The final day of the Lash/Chronicle Tournament was a time for teams to fight for a championship or to close out their tournament on a positive note with a win. The opening game of the day was between two 0-2 teams in Reynolds and Andrews. This was an odd game as neither team could hit anything from the field in the first half. It was a one possession game until the fourth quarter, when the Red
squads played well for the majority of the tournament. The defensive pressure from Parkland set the tone of the game early on. The game was very intense as everyone could see that neither team wanted to end their day with a loss. After finally settling down, the Eagles took the lead in the second quarter and stretched it going into the half. East Forsyth didn’t rest on their 31-19 lead. They continued to apply pressure in the second half, until Parkland finally
Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
After all the smoke cleared, Mt. Tabor was crowned champion of the Lash Division with a 50-44 victory against Raegan.
South Stokes claimed the Chronicle Division championship by the score of 52-31 against Lexington. Raiders finally created a little breathing room. They closed out their tournament with a 34-27 win. “It was a great game and Reynolds did a great job,” said Reese Hamlin, Andrews’ head coach. “Both teams played good and we are just excited for the win, because we needed it going into conference play next week.” Parkland and East Forsyth were the second game of the day, a game with two 1-1 teams in the tournament, and both
made their run. The Mustangs closed the gap to 45-43 with less than four minutes left in the game, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Eagles closed them out 51-44 to finish the tournament 2-1. “We just wanted to be active,” said Rodney White, East Forsyth head coach. “We knew they were athletic and fast, but we just tried to come out and play our ball, take care of the ball, and just press as much as we can, because we are small.
That was our main goal, to play as hard as we could, get steals, and to carry over from last night into today. “I told them to just have fun, but take care of the ball. I got to understand that they are all ninth graders, but just calm down, run our stuff, and take care of the basketball. I feel like we have three of the best guards in the county in this tournament right now.” White says his team was 1-3 coming into the tournament, so to come away with two good victories is great for his team. He says they are more confident and are playing better as a team. A matchup in The Chronicle Division was on the slate next. Carver, who was 1-1 in the tournament, played Winston-Salem Prep,who was 0-2. This game turned out to be one of the best of the day. The lead switched hands multiple times throughout the game, with neither team able to establish any consistent momentum. In the second half, Carver looked to be in control of the game until Jace Covington took over. Covington
finished with 27 points and was the major reason for the Phoenix winning 46-44. “It’s good to have this momentum, because we finally got our first win after we lost some close games we should have won,” said Chesley Graves, Prep head coach. “I think this right here is going to be a big plus for the kids. We finally got that one win in the tournament, so I think this is going to be a good stepping stone for us to go further.” Covington was one of the leading scorers in the tournament and his 27 points against Carver was the high for any player throughout the tournament. Graves had high praise for Covington. “He is a smart guard and sometimes even during practice he thinks what I think,” Graves said. “It’s like a point guard/point guard mentality and I love it. He is a tough kid and he is beginning to evolve and learn the game a whole lot more. He can only get better and the future is going to be promising for him.” See Lash3 on A8
Hands Up Guns Down Movement encourages locals to put the guns down and step in the ring BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE
At a place in time where violent crime is at an all time high and it seems as if there’s a shooting every day, there’s a new initiative that is giving people in the community an alternative to picking up a gun: putting on boxing gloves instead. Started by WinstonSalem native Ralph Saunders, the Hands Up Guns Down movement gives individuals who may have issues the opportunity to settle their differences in the ring. Saunders first started the movement in 2019 with a few bouts held
in a local park. He said the event did well, but he didn’t have the support he needed to really make the movement a success. “For me I think it all started in 2019 with the first event I had. It was really something I just put together real quick and hundreds of people came out,” Saunders said. “From that I knew this was something that could catch on, but I knew I couldn’t do it by myself.” After discussing it for a while and working out the details, in 2021, Saunders, who is also a trainer at 21/90 Fitness, decided to
give it another try. “With everything that was going on in the community, I just felt like it was time to bring it back,” Saunders said. In November Saunders hosted a small event at the 21/90 Studio on Patterson Avenue. Although the event didn’t draw a large crowd, hundreds of people watched the video and a few days later dozens of people started reaching out to Saunders asking to participate. Even after seeing how well the event did on social media, Saunders said he was still skeptical about investing his time and en-
ergy into the movement. But all that changed when Delano Davis reached out to him and offered his help. “There’s a lot that goes into putting on an event like this, a whole lot. Especially if you want to do it the right way,” Saunders said. “It’s a lot of people who say they’ll help but never show up. That’s why I’m so grateful for him (Davis ) because he’s one of the few people who have stayed true to their word and really helped me get this off the ground.” With help from Davis, Saunders’ vision for the Hands Up Guns Down
movement is moving into place. On Jan. 15 seven different fights are scheduled to take place, including two for title belts, as part of the Hands Up Guns Down Bragging Rights event. When discussing the event and his partnership with Saunders, Davis said when he heard about the movement, he knew it was something the community needed. “I do a lot of stuff for the community already, so when I heard about this I immediately reached out to Ralph and we’ve been See Hands on A3