Looking to stake a claim to the top seed of the 2-AAAAA B
sub-region boys basketball standings, Warner Robins High’s Demons had five
players score seven or more points Friday in a 61-47 win at Houston County
Friday. That put Warner Robins at 4-1 in the sub-region, and on the same day
Northside concluded sub-region play with a triple-overtime loss at Jones
County.
Jamaal Garman’s group is the only one now with a chance to
win the sub-region outright. A Jones win against Warner Robins Tuesday would
create a similar three-way tie that is facing the girls teams. Both Jones and
Northside own two losses.
Davon Akins of the Bears led all scorers Friday with 19
points, and all of those came in the second half.
Even with Akins lighting things up in numerous ways, Warner
Robins never trailed in the second half.
It was in the final minute of the first half that the Demons
seized full control. Down 16-14, Warner Robins scored the final five on the
back of reserve guard Carlos Scott. He notched all five of the points and had a
steal in-between field goals. At the break, the visitors led 19-16.
The best way to describe the first quarter of play would be
atrocious in terms of action, both teams only putting four points on the board
for all but the last three seconds. Taran Wooten had a power-dribble basket in
the lane, and that was halfway through the period for Houston County’s first
scoring.
Juvaun Shine had 2 plus an assist to Leon Perry in the low
block. Jamarcus Williams, who had a steal, recovered his own errant dribbling
for the Bears’ tying points. That was with three minutes still to play.
A.J. Burton, off Stephen Walls’ bench, put in an offensive
rebound giving Houston the lead going into the second quarter.
Bears guard Andrew Graham picked up the pace of the second
quarter with seven points and two steals. To complete his own personal run of
scoring, he patiently worked the dribble and went baseline for a pretty lay-in.
Houston was ahead by seven, but Jefferson Murray, a back-up
Demon guard, sank two 3-pointers while forward Stephone Raybon had three
offensive rebounds.
The shooting problems of the first quarter were long
forgotten in the second half. Shine and Nathan Curtis combined for five
perimeter points, and Curtis added a block and assist off a rebound to Perry.
For Warner Robins, it was a 10-2 run in three game minutes and 29-18 lead.
Akins, responsible for the two Bears points, scored again at
4:47. Graham added a 3-pointer. Though the Bears double-teamed Shine, the
senior guard found Josh King open for a baseline shot (33-23). Shine’s next
assist went to Perry, but then Houston County threw together six in a row to
close out the quarter.
Williams penetrated for 2 and caused a turnover. Akins sank
a long 2 at the 40-second mark, but the Bears couldn’t cash in a bad Warner
Robins giveaway in the last 20 seconds.
Houston County had the first possession of the fourth
quarter, and Burton passed his offensive board out to Akins for a
top-of-the-key 3. Houston cut the margin to one, 35-34, but Akins had to leave
the floor with a hurt ankle.
Marquez Callaway, Warner Robins freshman, sank a 3 to start
a 7-0 run. Scott earned 3 from a corner and stole away a rebound. Shine stood
two steps from the arc in making 3 more, and the Demons were up nine 46-37.
Akins would play again, but Warner Robins stretched out to a
15-point advantage with a Scott transition assist to Donovan Brown, who had two
more on the run from a Bear turnover.
Shine had 10 points and Scott eight. Murray, Perry and
Curtis all scored seven. Graham put in 11 for Houston, which played its last
sub-region game.
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