Basketball Roundup: Warner Robins girls lock to host region tournament, Westfield girls defending first-round bye in closing weeks of regular season

Some cold weather moved a few weekend games, “extending” the regular season by about a day as teams try to complete their region schedule before the region tournaments in the coming weeks.

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

Houston County

Boys

Houston County (16-6, 7-1 Region 2-5A) only ended up playing one game last week, a 64-61 loss to Lee County at home.

That officially split the season series down the middle after the Bears’ 61-57 victory in Leesburg the previous week. HoCo, the only team with fewer than two region losses, still holds on to first place in the region outright, though the girls’ side of the region will determine the region tournament location.

HoCo needs to win out or at least split to go with one Lee County loss in order to maintain their current position. They have two remaining region games — Feb. 6 against Coffee at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 7 at Thomas County Central at 2:30 p.m.

Girls

The Lady Bears (0-21, 0-8 Region 2-5A) had one of their closest contests of the season last week in a 41-35 loss to West Laurens, their first single-digit loss since Nov. 18.

That non-region game was preceded by a 61-22 defeat at the hands of Lee County. HoCo has two more chances for a regular season victory to avoid their first winless season in the MaxPreps era:

Feb. 6 against Coffee at 6 p.m. and Feb. 7 at Thomas County Central at 1 p.m.

Northside

Boys

Northside’s (13-9, 2-5 Region 2-5A) two-game losing streak was snapped last week after a 79-48 loss to Coffee on the road — their largest of the season.

Before that they won on the road against Northside-Columbus 80-76 to finish a brief pair of non-region games.

Friday’s final against Coffee didn’t change their fourth place positioning in the region, though they have several important games when it comes to seeding later this week:

Besides Feb. 3 against Lee County, Feb. 5 at Veterans and Feb. 6 at Thomas County Central are games against the sixth and fifth place teams respectively. All games have a 7:30 p.m. start time.

Girls

The Lady Eagles (13-9, 4-3 Region 2-5A) have hit a rough patch in the final moments of the season, now losers of three straight.

Last week’s were 41-38 against Northside-Columbus and 68-27 to Coffee in a game that was close through three quarters.

Northside still has possession of third place, which means they would host the first day of the region tournament were the season to end today.

Veterans, the fourth place team, has a 3-6 record with one region game to go against Northside. If the Lady Eagles lose out, third place in the region will be determined by a tiebreaker between the two.

All remaining games this week start at 6 p.m.: Feb. 3 against Lee County, Feb. 5 at Veterans, Feb. 6 at Thomas County Central.

Perry

Boys

Perry (5-17, 1-8 Region 1-4A) lost their ninth and 10th straight games last week to Warner Robins and Wayne County.

Tuesday’s game against the Demons was the lesser of the two losses, though not by much, at 64-37. Friday’s final against Wayne County was 72-47.

That concluded a two-game road trip, and the Panthers only have one remaining region game on the schedule. Feb. 3 against New Hampstead at 5:30 p.m., and the regular season will conclude on Feb. 7 at Crisp County at 3:30 p.m.

Girls

The Lady Panthers’ (8-14, 0-6 Region 1-4A) regular season is over after last week, they only await the region tournament.

The season ended on a four-game losing streak, ended by a two-game road trip and losses to Warner Robins (73-43) and Wayne County (54-39).

There are only four teams in the girls’ Region 1-4A; Benedictine is an all-boys school and New Hampstead did not field a girls basketball team this year. So Perry is guaranteed a playoff spot.

Veterans

Boys

Veterans (10-14, 2-7 Region 2-5A) won their 10th game last week to snap a four-game skid and pick up their second region win of the season.

The 66-60 Friday night final saw the Warhawks in control for much of the contest, and makes Veterans fans of Northside and Houston County this week.

With a win against the Eagles on Feb. 5, Veterans can climb into fifth place if the Yellow Jackets lose to both Northside and Houston County.

Girls

The Lady Warhawks (7-15, 3-6 Region 2-5A) pulled out a close one in a 50-47 come from behind victory against Thomas County Central on Friday.

That and the 78-50 loss to Coffee on Tuesday likely seal Veterans in fourth place, needing a win against Northside and for the Lady Eagles to lose out for a chance to move up.

The Lady ‘Hawks play Sumter County on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. and host Northside on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. to end the regular season.

Warner Robins

Boys

Warner Robins (13-11, 8-1 Region 1-4A) picked up a couple of dominant region wins last week as they prepare for their biggest game of the season this week in their region and regular season finale.

Tuesday’s final was 64-37 against Perry at home before the Demons headed down to New Hampstead for another lopsided victory, 64-39.

Now their biggest game of the season comes against Ware County on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m., a battle for first place. Though, the girls will determine the region tournament location, so this is purely for seeding in the tournament.

Girls

The Demonettes (19-3, 5-0 Region 1-4A) are a lock for first place, and thus hosts of the region tournament, after last week’s 73-43 win against Perry in their only contest.

It was Warner Robins’ eighth win in a row and kept their perfect region record intact as they head into the final week of the regular season with a game at Ware County on Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. Even with a loss the Demonettes will maintain their first-place spot.

Westfield

Boys

Westfield (11-11, 2-4 GIAA District 5-4A/3A) fell to .500 last week as their losing streak reached four games.

The week started with a road trip to Brookstone, a 70-69 loss, and the Hornets’ closest loss since another one-point margin on Dec. 11 against Tiftarea Academy.

That was followed by a 59-55 defeat against Calvary Christian, and Deerfield-Windsor hosted them for a 56-54 final on Saturday.

Westfield will close out the regular season this week at Strong Rock Christian on Feb. 3 and at home against St. Anne-Pacelli on Feb. 6. Both games have 7:30 p.m. start times.

Girls

The Lady Hornets (18-4, 6-0 GIAA District 5-4A/3A) maintained their first-place status last week with a pair of district wins to get them to a four-game winning streak.

Tuesday’s contest at Brookstone was their closest of the week, a 49-46 victory. Friday’s final against Calvary Christian was far more lopsided, a 49-25 final heading into Saturday’s 44-38 road win at Deerfield-Windsor.

At the moment Westfield is ranked second in the GIAA 3A rankings on MaxPreps, which determines the seeds for the championship tournament. The top three seeds get a bye in the first round, and the Lady Hornets are in good position to protect that entering their final games.

They have two district games remaining, both with 6 p.m. start times: Feb. 3 at Strong Rock Christian and Feb. 6 against St. Anne-Pacelli.