West Forsyth boys basketball won two games, Jacari Brim picks up 1,000th career point; girls lose at Reynolds

Published 5:24 pm Sunday, January 14, 2024

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By Jay Spivey 

For the Clemmons Courier

The West Forsyth boys basketball team was scheduled to play three games this past week, and the girls team was scheduled to play two games.  

That didn’t go as planned. It’s all because of the weather.  

Normally, in January, a postponement in a sport might be because of the forecast for snow, sleet, or freezing rain. That wasn’t the case this time. The forecast this past Tuesday was for strong thunderstorms, wind and heavy rain. Therefore, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools chose to cancel school on Tuesday for the safety of students and staff. The cancellation of school also meant no extracurricular activities that afternoon. 

The West Forsyth boys and girls basketball teams were scheduled to play at Davie County Tuesday night, but those games were postponed and moved to Jan. 23.  

The boys games was also supposed to be a matchup of the two teams undefeated in the Central Piedmont 4-A. They both still are undefeated in the conference with after wins Friday night.  

“The only obstacle was the weather,” Coach Marlon Brim of the West Forsyth boys said. “But we just treated the next day as a practice, a normal practice day. So, for us it wasn’t too much of an issue.” 

School returned on Wednesday, and that meant practice on Wednesday and Thursday before West Forsyth traveled to Reynolds on Friday. The West Forsyth boys defeated Reynolds 70-59 to improve to 4-0 in the conference. Davie County defeated Parkland Friday night 72-64 to improve to 14-0 and 4-0, still tied with West Forsyth.  

“I thought we responded,” Brim said. “I thought we got off to a slow start, but when you play one game and then take a week off you don’t have the same game preparedness or readiness. So, for me, it was just like back to our old schedule of playing one game a week. But I thought in the second half we played much better.” 

Jordan Jones and Jacari Brim, Brim’s son, scored 16 points apiece in the win against Reynolds. Cam White had 15 points and Anthony Jordan had 14.  

There was a silver lining to not playing until the Reynolds game Friday night.  

“I think it helped us because it gave us a chance to get a little healthy,” Brim said. “I had a kid or two, not sick, but had a little cold, missed a day of school. But at the end of the day our kids responded, and they got the win and did what we’re supposed to do.” 

This past Saturday, West Forsyth played host to the MLK Classic, which Brim started when he was at Atkins. There were six scheduled games – five boys and one girls. West Forsyth played the second game of day and defeated McMichael 79-56 to improve to 12-2 overall.  

“For us it’s just a regular-season game,” Marlon Brim said. “It’s just another game to get up under your belt to get more consistency, more scoring, and getting kids better. So, to us, you know, you want to play in conference, but sometimes it’s (good) to play a nonconference game. That’s always good, too.” 

Jacari Brim, Brim’s son, led West Forsyth with 23 points to lead it against McMichael. During the game, Jacari Brim picked up his 1,000th career point. 

“I was proud,” Marlon Brim said of his son. “But I let him have his moment today, and when they present him with the 1,000th (ball) I’ll be more excited. But I was happy for him and excited for him because he’s put in a lot of work.” 

Brayden Adams added 12 points Saturday, and Mike Siedlecki chipped in with 10. 

“I thought from the second quarter on to the end of the game I thought we played the way we played in the second half against Reynolds,” Marlon Brim said. 

This week, West Forsyth is scheduled to play at home Wednesday night against East Forsyth and at Mount Tabor on Friday.  

“The CPC doesn’t get easier,” Marlon Brim said. “Night-in, night-out it’s a grind. Every team is a grind in the CPC. So, like I told them (Saturday), (Saturday) after the game, move on the next team. So, celebrate the win, but we’ve got to move on.” 

And there’s still that thing where the West Forsyth boys are undefeated in the conference.  

“Because we’re undefeated in the conference doesn’t mean anything,” Marlon Brim said. “We’ve got two tough teams coming up this week. We can go from being undefeated to two losses if we’re not ready.” 

As for the West Forsyth girls, they also had this past Tuesday off because of the forecast for inclement weather.  

West Forsyth also had off all week before it played at Reynolds Friday night. Reynolds tripped West Forsyth 38-29.  

West Forsyth fell to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the conference.  

As of Sunday, Reynolds and Mount Tabor are tied for the conference lead at 4-1. West Forsyth is third at 3-1, followed by Parkland at 3-2. Davie County is 2-2, Reagan is 2-3, East Forsyth is 1-4, and Glenn is last at 0-5.  

The West Forsyth girls will also play host to East Forsyth on Wednesday and will travel to Mount Tabor on Friday.