West Forsyth 47, East Forsyth 42
East Forsyth 16-8- 9- 9 -- 42 West Forsyth 7- 9-14-17 -- 47
East Forsyth (5-14, 3-3) Will Rhodes 12, Ty Lyles 10, Thorns 7, Timmons 7, Ritchens 4, Reeves 2.
West Forsyth (3-17, 2-4) Bralen Morris 13, Kris Mickens 13, CJ Smith 12, Beckner 5, Hill 4.
East Forsyth led big early but couldn’t hold on, dropping a 47-42 decision to West Forsyth in Clemmons Friday night. The victory, the second straight Central Piedmont 4A Conference win for the Titans, avenged a 41-37 loss to the Eagles last month.
East sprinted to a 16-5 lead late in the first quarter behind solid pressure defense & maintained a ten-point margin (26-16) early in the second half. But the Eagles’ center Zyun Reeves, slowed in the first 16 minutes by foul trouble, picked up his own third & fourth fouls midway the through the third quarter as West steadily chipped away at its deficit, taking its first lead since early in the game (4-2) at 40-38 with 4:35 remaining in the game on a drive by CJ Smith.
The Titans never trailed again, expanding their lead to 43-38 after Reeves fouled out with 3:37 remaining. East cut the lead to three (45-42) on a Joe Ritchens’ rebound follow with 23 seconds left but Tyler Beckner, whose three-pointer three possessions earlier helped West maintain its lead, hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to seal the win.
Bralen Morris & Kris Mickens led West with 13 points each & Smith added 12 & a game-high 10 rebounds. Will Rhodes led East Forsyth with 12 while Reeves was limited to two points in addition to his team-high seven rebounds & three blocked shots in limited playing time.
East Forsyth plays Glenn & Reagan next week at home on Tuesday & Friday respectively while West Forsyth hosts rival Davie County on Tuesday night in Clemmons.
Courtesy of East Forsyth assistant coach Bill Armour