WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — It went down to the wire in the Warner Robins Demons’ regular season opener against the Houston County Bears, and they needed all 32 minutes to pull it out.
The Demons (1-0) squeaked by the Bears (1-1) 76-73, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a clutch three-pointer from Gabriel Jacobs to tie the game with 27 seconds left, nor without the fourth quarter heroics from Cam Perkins.
Outside of the three from Jacobs and a lone free throw from Justin Hill, Perkins was responsible for the rest of the Demons’ 20 fourth quarter points.
“We needed it, we needed it. He just took it upon himself that he wasn’t going to lose the game. If he was going to lose, he was going to go down fighting,” Head coach Jamaal Garman said. “He made a couple big steals right there at the end. Definitely some big shots, big free throws right there. So that was huge for us. He’s the captain, that’s what captains are supposed to do.”
Warner Robins led, just barely, until the early third quarter when Kam Plummer trailed into a three to take HoCo’s first lead of the night at 42-40.
Neither team could get a stop for the rest of the quarter and the Bears took the lead, as well as the momentum, into the final period up 58-56.
Perkins took it upon himself to get the Demons back into the game to open the fourth but the Bears’ defense had a different plan.
Perkins had two of his layup attempts blocked on back-to-back possessions, but finally got one to go to cut the score to 62-58.
He hit three more consecutively, but a Malik Gillespie three and Malachi Jackson layup put the Bears ahead 67-64 with 2:45 to go.
Perkins and the HoCo offense traded baskets, but a spinning layup from Perkins after two missed Jackson free throws made it a 71-68 game with 45 seconds to go.
In came Jacobs who flared out to the right corner and took the shot to tie the game at 71 with 27 seconds left to play.
Hill and Devan Robinson traded free throws to put HoCo back on top 73-72, but Perkins found himself at the line with 4.6 seconds left.
He had shaky free throw shooting in Tuesday’s scrimmage against Perry, but he was cool, calm and collected as he drained both free throws to take the lead for the final time.
Antwun Zeigler did have a chance at the stripe to win or tie the game for HoCo, but missed both free throws. Perkins went to the line and drained both one more time before the final buzzer sounded.
Without Perkins’s efforts, the Demons lose. However according to Garman there were other things that helped them get over the hump.
“The overall team defense. We gave up a bunch of baskets, but we scored a bunch of baskets too, but the overall team defense is what pushed us over the top,” Garman said. “I put guys in different spots than what they normally are practicing in. They filled right in and made some tips and deflections and got the ball. So that was that was perfect timing for us.”
Though they were able to pull it out in the end, the Demons put the Bears on the line all night long. That’s something Garman wants to avoid as they move forward, as well as make some other adjustments.
“We definitely got to rebound. We didn’t take enough charges tonight at all. So, definitely grabbing those rebounds with two hands, being strong with it, and holding on to it. And like I say, sliding over, playing better team defense by seeing and helping and sliding over and taking the charge,” Garman said. “So those things they gotta get better. We got a real big team coming in next Saturday in Valdosta. [We just] gotta be ready. Got four to four or five days to prepare for them. So we gotta be ready.”
Demonettes 61, Lady Bears 43
The Demonettes (1-0) haven’t lost to the Lady Bears (0-1) since 2021, and that streak continued in Thursday night’s win.
It wasn’t a smooth ride for all four quarters, but the outcome was never really in question.
The Demonettes jumped out to a 14-3 lead that seemed to dissipate in just as much time. The Lady Bears took advantage of a string of Demonette turnovers to uncork a 6-0 run, but trailed 20-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Bears got as close as 23-19, but a couple layups from Korveanna Slaughter and one from Diamond Ellison pushed the lead back to double digits at 30-19.
To open the third quarter Slaughter scored four points to take a 43-22 lead, and it seemed like the Demonettes were going to run away with it.
While the Lady Bears never really did get close, the Demonettes’ offense ground to a halt.
The Lady Bears walled up the paint and the Demonettes resorted to three-pointers or had their entry passes to the paint picked off, but their defense stood pat to keep the Lady Bears in check.
The Lady Bears did go on an 11-0 run to put them within 12 with 3:19 to go, and turnovers played a great role in that.
The Demonettes’ defense hunkered down to prevent a score for those final three minutes, but head coach Rebecca White knows they’ll have to reduce their turnovers against better teams.
“We saw a lot of different things that we can work on offensively. Different flow of people we can put in together, different dynamics and makeups,” White said. “Tonight we learned a lot from it. We’re gonna build. We’re young, but it’s exciting to watch our young team.”
UP NEXT
The Demonettes will have to learn quickly with their test against the Monroe Lady Tornadoes on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. during the Hypesouth Invitational held at Warner Robins High School.
The Demons will have a little more time to improve, but they’ll need it with the Valdosta Wildcats coming to town on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. during the Hypesouth Invitational held at Warner Robins High School.
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