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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

The regular seasons for the West Forsyth boys and girls basketball teams ended Friday night with Senior Night at Simpson Gymnasium with Central Piedmont 4-A games against Mount Tabor.  

The boys were playing for a chance to share the conference title, and the girls were hoping to end on a high note. Both teams lost, but all was not lost. The conference tournament begins on Monday at the sites of the higher seeds, and because the boys finished third and the girls finished fourth, West Forsyth will play host to a first-round doubleheader at 6 p.m. and 7:30 on Monday night. The girls, who finished fourth, will play host to No. 5 Reagan at 6 p.m., and the boys, who finished third, will play host to No. 6 Parkland right after the girls game.  

Should either or both teams win their games on Monday they will move on to the semifinals, which will be played Davie County. Both the girls and boys tournament championships will also be played at Davie County on Friday night.  

As for the West Forsyth boys, they lost to Mount Tabor 85-73 with the help of 34 points by Shamarius Peterkin.  

Mount Tabor (19-5, 12-2) took a 25-16 lead after the first quarter.  

“I thought we came out sluggish,” Coach Marlon Brim of West Forsyth said. “I thought we didn’t come out with the same intensity that we usually do.” 

That surprising part of what Brim said came after West Forsyth defeated East Forsyth 79-60 this past Tuesday in Kernersville, setting itself up with a chance of winning or sharing the conference title. 

“We were just talking about that as a staff — how we didn’t look like we had energy, how we looked like the moment was,” Brim said after the Mount Tabor game. “We just came out and just played basketball instead of playing for a conference championship.” 

Even the 25-18 lead Mount Tabor had at the end of the first quarter was somewhat misleading. It was 20-16, but Joah Shay scored five straight points in the final 1:02 of the quarter to extend the lead to nine points.  

That momentum carried to the second quarter and the lead ballooned to 19 points after JaDon Blair hit a layup with 4:37 left to extend the lead to 37-18. 

Blair added 14 points, and Shay and Campbell Scurry finished with 12 each for the Spartans. 

“I think they hit some threes. They got a couple offensive rebounds, couple loose balls, they found their shooters and just knocked down threes,” Brim said. “But other than that, I think that was the difference. We couldn’t make shots. They made shots when they needed to.” 

The Titans (18-6, 10-4) kept chipping into the lead and made it 45-34 at halftime after Cameron White hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.  

The Titans trimmed the lead to 47-39 after Anthony Jordan hit a jumper with 6:51 left in the third quarter. However, the Spartans answered with a run of their own, taking a 64-47 lead with 2:32 left.  

Jacari Brim led the Titans with 22 points, White had 14, Jordan Jones scored 13, and Jordan Tate finished with 12. 

“I thought it was tough on us, but we didn’t do what we were supposed to when we got stops,” Brim said. “We didn’t punish them like they did us. If they got a stop or loose ball they was able to make a shot. We wasn’t able at the time to do that. So, that was the difference in the game.  

“I tip my hat to Tabor. They were the better team tonight.” 

Mount Tabor was on cruise control and took a 78-60 lead on a jumper with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter. Peterkin added two free throws with 3:47 left to take an 80-62 lead. 

“I tip my hat to Snook (Peterkin),” Brim said. “He played well tonight. He played great tonight. So, at the end of the day I tip my hat to ‘em, but hopefully we see ‘em again.” 

West Forsyth was able to come back and trimmed the lead to 83-73 after a layup by White with 1:23 remaining. 

“At the end of the day we are always going to make a run,” Brim said. “It’s we don’t sustain it for periods of time, and I think that was difference. We should’ve made the run when we cut it to eight. We should’ve sustained it, but we didn’t. We gave up seven unanswered, which puts it right back to 15.” 

Even though West Forsyth lost by 12 points, there was a silver lining. 

“One thing about our kids, we’re going to fight until the end,” Brim said. “So, that doesn’t surprise me. What surprised me was our lack of energy coming out on senior night knowing conference championship, knowing this that and the other was there for us to take, and we didn’t take it.” 

Now, the conference tournament is set to begin on Monday. If West Forsyth defeats Parkland on Monday it will play Tuesday night in the semifinals against the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal between No. 7 Reynolds at No. 2 Davie County. The championship is scheduled for Friday night.  

Monday’s other first-round games in the boys tournament are No. 8 Glenn at No. 1 Mount Tabor and No. 5 Reagan at No. 4 East Forsyth. Those winners will play in Wednesday’s semifinals at 7:30 at Davie County.  

“You’ve got to (think that the season’s slate is clean) because now is one and done,” Marlon Brim said. “So, you’ve got to win Monday, and then you’ve got to win Tuesday, then you’ve got to win Friday. So, everything is one, one, one. So, win or go home.” 

The West Forsyth girls struggled for much of the game Friday night against Mount Tabor and lost 51-36. 

Mount Tabor (19-5, 13-1), which will be the top seed in the conference tournament, took a 16-7 lead after the first quarter and 21-13 at halftime.  

In the third quarter, the Spartans extended the lead to 35-19 after Ava Hairston stole a ball and converted a layup with 1:35 left. 

Shaymiah Bailey led the Spartans with 20 points, Kleiauna Riddick had 16, and Hairston chipped in with 13. 

Emma Staples led the Titans (12-10, 7-7) with 11 points and Campbell McClain scored 10. 

West Forsyth is scheduled to meet No. 5 Reagan at 6 p.m. on Monday in the conference-tournament quarterfinals. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Reagan won the first meeting in November in the first round of the Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic. However, West Forsyth won the two regular-season meetings.  

If West Forsyth wins it will play the winner of Monday’s game between No. 8 Glenn and Mount Tabor in Wednesday’s semifinals at 6 p.m. at Davie County. The championship is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday.  

Monday’s other first-round pairings are No. 6 Parkland at No. 3 Davie County and No. 7 East Forsyth at No. 2 Reynolds. Those winners will play Tuesday in the semifinals at 6 p.m. at Davie County.