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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The Davie varsity boys basketball team suffered narrow defeat in a tense CPC battle at West Forsyth on Jan. 8, but there is plenty of drama left to unfold.
When last week ended, West was standing in first place at 5-0, with Davie and Mt. Tabor tied for second at 4-1.
In Clemmons, the War Eagles were within two with 1:44 remaining before coming up short, 54-49.
“Since I’ve been here, that’s the best we’ve handled the West Forsyth environment,” coach Josh Pittman said. “We handled the ball decent and didn’t have many turnovers. We just came up short.”
When Elliott Erlandsson banged a 3-pointer with 1:12 left in the first half, Davie had a 25-24 lead. But the game turned as Davie went the next four minutes without a point. The drought ended when Bryson Mickey drained a triple to cut West’s lead to 33-28 with 5:11 left in the third.
“We did a really good job of stopping the fast break, but we’ve got to take better shots,” Pittman said.
The Titans used a 20-9 run to carve out a 44-34 lead with 7:29 to go. It was 50-40 West with 3:59 remaining, and that’s when Davie mounted a furious charge. Asher Tolbert rebounded his own miss and scored. Jackson Powers converted a pair at the free-throw line. When a Titan missed a free throw, Ethan Driver snatched the rebound and raced coast to coast with the ball. He scored, was fouled and hit the accompanying free throw. Then Driver scored on an offensive rebound to cap a 9-1 run that pulled Davie within 51-49 at 1:44.
“They beat Jackson, Bryson and Elliott up all night,” Pittman said. “We fought back through adversity. We got hit in the mouth and we got back up and kept swinging.”
West hit a free throw for a 52-49 lead. Davie missed a 3, but Landon King came up with a steal at halfcourt to keep his team’s hopes alive. Davie, though, missed another 3-point attempt and West iced the outcome by hitting a free throw at :33 that made it a two-possession game.
The Titans (12-1) extended their winning streak to six, a rise that began after a 71-51 loss to Tabor in the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic. Davie’s main weapons were Powers (14 points, 3 assists), Erlandsson (13 points, 5 rebounds), Driver (10 points, 4 rebounds) and Mickey (7 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds).
The low-scoring defensive struggle saw West shoot 36 percent (18 for 49) and Davie 35 percent (18-51).
“We battled and played hard,” Pittman said. “We did not shoot it as well as I would have hoped, but considering the fouls were 11-4 (in West’s favor) in the first half and to be right there at the end with three good looks to tie the game, I couldn’t ask for more from the kids.”
Davie 70, Parkland 50
One night later in Winston-Salem, the War Eagles eased past last-place Parkland.
Pittman substituted liberally and watched 11 guys put up points, led by Ben Reid, Mickey and Isaac Swisher with nine each. Reid added six rebounds and Mickey handed out four assists, but perhaps the best stat line belonged to Cam Owens, who had eight points, seven assists and five steals.
Driver (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), King (6 points), Erlandsson (6 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals) and Powers (6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) had their moments as Davie improved to 11-3 overall.
Notes: Davie is 7-0 against Parkland since the Mustangs joined the CPC in 2021-22. … Davie’s scoring could not be more balanced. Powers is No. 1 at 10.1 points per game, followed by Mickey’s 9.7, Erlandsson’s 9.5 and Driver’s 8.
W. Forsyth 54, Davie 49 – Jackson Powers 14, Elliott Erlandsson 13, Ethan Driver 10, Bryson Mickey 7, Landon King 3, Asher Tolbert 2.
Davie 70, Parkland 50 – Ben Reid 9, Bryson Mickey 9, Isaac Swisher 9, Cam Owens 8, Ethan Driver 6, Landon King 6, Elliott Erlandsson 6, Jackson Powers 6, Adam Brown 5, Asher Tolbert 4, George Sakai 2.