Basketball Roundup: Houston County takes control of Region 2-5A, region rematches coming up

Region standings have taken an early shape, with some clear leaders and losers separating themselves from the pack early.

Here’s a roundup of the last week’s basketball:

Houston County

Boys: Houston County (17-4, 6-0 Region 2-5A) has taken sole control over the region with their highly-anticipated 50-48 win over Lee County on Tuesday.

Braylin Mills pinned Brayden Moore’s potential game-winning shot on the backboard with under 10 seconds to go to preserve the Bears’ win. After controlling the first half, HoCo lost the third quarter, badly, before stabilizing and coming out on top.

Josh Jackson once again led scoring with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, while Derek Henderson scored 9 points, pulled down 3 boards and dished out 1 assts. Mills also scored 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.

The Bears took care of business against Coffee on Friday, 75-42 with Jackson scoring 19 points and 3 assists, Malik Gillespie adding 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Mills again finished in double digits with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block.

Northside gave HoCo a scare, but they ultimately came out with a 58-50 win after scoring a couple straight baskets to end the game. Gillespie scored 18 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and tallied an assist. Jackson scored 15 points and Kam Plummer added 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

As region play winds down, HoCo will have a week before their next matchup on the road at Veterans on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4:30 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Bears (5-15, 0-6 Region 2-5A) have been without a win for the entire month of January, including lopsided losses against Lee County and Coffee, while also losing to Northside.

HoCo played better defense in the last three quarters of their 57-26 loss to Lee County, but it wasn’t enough as Syniah Rankin finished with 6 points, Jordan Brewster adding 6 points and Madison Fillingame finishing with 4 points.

The Lady Bears suffered their third straight loss of 30 or more points when they hosted Coffee on Friday in a 70-26 final, and lost to Northside 50-27 on Saturday.

Their next game will be on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Veterans at 3 p.m.

Northside

Boys: Northside (9-9, 2-4 Region 2-5A) has had an up and down last two weeks, finishing with a 2-3 record in their last five games.

They bounced back from their Crosstown Showdown loss with a 52-47 win at Peach County, but fell at HoCo to finish their three-game road trip.

Against HoCo, Vontrez Quainton led the scoring with 19 points and Braylon Price added 16 as they were without Jordan Gaines.

The Eagles will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 24 at home against Peach County at 7:30 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Eagles (8-10, 3-3 Region 2-5A) snapped their four-game skid with a 50-27 win over county rival HoCo on Saturday, behind Justice Lester’s team-high 9 points, with Taylor Johnson and Jazmine Burgess scoring 8 points each.

They suffered a close 33-29 loss at Peach County on Tuesday, but will get a rematch at home on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.

Perry

Boys: Perry’s (3-17, 0-6 Region 1-4A) losing streak reached double digits on Saturday with their 62-49 loss to New Hampstead, their 10th in a row.

Keelan Battle led the scoring effort on Tuesday in their 85-43 loss at Warner Robins with 9 points, Juju Carswell poured in 6 points and Kyle Jones matched that.

They had a fighter’s chance on Friday in their 49-46 loss at Wayne County, but ultimately fell.

They will host Caleb Jones and Benedictine on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Panthers (12-6, 2-3 Region 1-4A) 9-1 start has turned into a 2-5 start to the new year, but they are hanging on to fourth place.

Perry fell in two region contests to start the week; 74-26 at Warner Robins and 41-23 at Wayne County.

Against the Demonettes, Cam McKenzie led with 8 points, Kennedi Miller added 7 points and Markayle Ragin finished with 6 points.

They did pick up their second region win in a 67-21 final over New Hampstead, though.

The Lady Panthers’ next game will be the start of a two-game road trip, starting at Ware County on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.

Veterans

Boys: After losing to HoCo and Lee County, Veterans (12-7, 3-2 Region 2-5A) has won three straight including two region games.

On Tuesday they finished their five-game road trip at Bleckley County with a 56-50 win. Aiden Sweenor scored a team-high 23 points, Jaivyon Dawson added 10 points and Tristen Abner scored 9 points.

The Warhawks kept up their winning ways with a big win over Thomas County Central, a 75-61 final where they limited leading Region 2-5A scorer Eric Love III led by Trey Byrd’s 18 points. Sweenor and Abner added 17 and 13 points respectively.

Veterans finished their week with a 41-36 win at Jones County. Dawson scored 13 points, Abner and Jordan Watson had 10 points a piece.

The Warhawks’ next game is on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. when they’ll host Lee County in the first region rematch of the year.

Girls: The Lady Warhawks (12-7, 4-1 Region 2-5A) lost to Jones County on Saturday, which snapped their three-game winning streak including two region wins by 30-plus points.

The most recent of which was a 76-45 final over Thomas County Central on Friday where Jessie Ortiz scored 19 points, Nariah Nelson followed with 17 points and Madison Sheppard added 10 points.

The Lady Yellow Jackets stuck around for a while as Veterans went through a cold spell, but the Lady ‘Hawks worked the ball inside in the second half and put them away with a great third quarter.

They also beat Bleckley County 69-56 on Tuesday.

The Lady ‘Hawks have a rematch with Lee County on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and will look to avenge their only region loss so far.

Warner Robins

Boys: Warner Robins (10-6, 3-2 Region 1-4A) has just not been able to figure it out this year.

It seemed like they were going in the right direction when they took care of Ware County at home to start a five-game winning streak, but in the first two games of their six-game road trip they fell to New Hampstead and Ware County.

The 68-63 loss at the Phoenix, who’ve now jumped Warner Robins in the standings, started a bad weekend that also saw them drop the rematch with Ware County 60-49.

Region 1-4A is much weaker than Region 2-5A the Demons were in last year, and while it’ll be an uphill climb to host the region tournament now, it’s still possible with the remaining schedule.

Girls: Not to jinx it, but it’s entirely possible the Demonettes (19-0, 5-0 Region 1-4A) finish the regular season undefeated.

Ware County, who they took care of 52-40 on the road on Saturday, was their biggest threat remaining on the schedule. Trinitee Thomas scored 20 points, pulled down 9 boards and added 3 assists and 2 steals in the effort. Korveanna Slaughter scored 16 points, tallied 4 assists and got 4 steals while Janelle Turner drew 5 charges on her 6-point 6-rebound night.

For the other two games of the week against Perry and New Hampstead, Warner Robins won by a combined score of 148-34, including a 74-8 final at the Lady Phoenix.

The remaining schedule is Wayne County (Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.), Northside, Perry and New Hampstead. The Demonettes won the previous matchups by a combined 276-97, and none of the games were closer than 30 points.

Warner Robins could finish the season 23-0.

Westfield

Boys: Westfield (6-9, 1-3 District 5-3A) saw their losing streak stretch out to five this week before they snapped it for their first district win on Friday.

The Hornets hosted undefeated St. Anne-Pacelli on Tuesday, losing 66-47 against a long and athletic team.

On Friday, however, Westfield bounced back with a 44-38 road win over Strong Rock Christian, who plummeted to the bottom of the district standings and now stand as the lone winless team.

Westfield has their work cut out for them if they want to get in the district championship conversation, but they’ll start by hosting Brookstone on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

They will travel to Deerfield-Windsor for a non-district game on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:30 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Hornets (8-7, 3-1 District 5-3A) had an opportunity to make a statement this week, and they did by taking down (then) 17-1 Strong Rock Christian 40-17 on Friday.

Although they lost 46-28 to St. Anne-Pacelli on Tuesday, they still sit at second in the standings with an opportunity for a rematch coming up.

After last week’s wins over Brookstone and Calvary Christian, this week was an opportunity to prove the Lady Hornets belonged at the top of the district standings — they made a good case this week.

Westfield’s next game will be on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at home against Brookstone at 6 p.m.