Basketball Roundup: Warner Robins, Houston County victorious on first rivalry weekend of 2025

Teams are knee deep in the 2024-25 season now, but Warner Robins and Northside took a break from region play for the Crosstown Showdown while other teams also played in-county rivals.

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

Houston County

Boys: Houston County (14-4, 3-0 Region 2-5A) has won six straight games after their loss to Southwest-Macon in the Bear Brawl, including 56-39 and 54-47 wins over Veterans and Thomas County Central respectively.

The Bears finished a two-game road trip on Friday at TCC with Josh Jackson again leading the scoring with 21 points. Andrew Wahiwe contributed 11 points and Malik Gillespie had 8 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

Taking care of business against Veterans on Saturday, Jackson led the way with 17 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists. Gillespie followed up with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists while Braylin Mills scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block.

HoCo has their toughest region game on the slate this week as they host Lee County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. They will also host Coffee on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Northside on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Bears (5-11, 0-3 Region 2-5A) dropped two this week to extend their losing streak to four games.

On Friday at Thomas County Central, HoCo fell 52-31 and then fell again on Saturday as they ran into Nariah Nelson and Veterans, losing 72-18 led by Nelson’s 29 points.

Against the Lady Warhawks Alaina Coley scored a team-high 8 points, Madison Fillingame scored 7 points and Felicity Curtis scored 2 points.

The Lady Bears will look to snap the streak on Tuesday, Jan. 14 as they host Lee County at 6 p.m. They also host Coffee on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. and Northside on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

Northside

Boys: Northside (8-8, 2-3 Region 2-5A) has had an up and down season but find themselves holding on to the fourth spot in the region two weeks into the “second season.”

The Eagles fell to Lee County 66-36 to start the week with Jordan Gaines leading with 13 points, Chastan Brown scoring 7 points and Vontrez Quainton adding 4 points.

They beat Coffee, firmly seated in last place, 64-56 on Friday before heading into the Crosstown Showdown against Warner Robins on Saturday.

The Eagles were dismantled by the Demons 77-31, with Meki Spencer leading the team’s scoring with 8 points. Quainton added 6 points and Braylon Price also scored 6 points.

Northside has one more non-region contest at Peach County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. before heading back into region play at Houston County on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Eagles (7-9, 2-3 Region 2-5A) are also holding on to fourth place in the region, but they dropped three games this week to end a three-game winning streak.

On Tuesday they lost to Lee County 34-24, with Taylor Johnson scoring 7 points, Jazmyn Brown scoring 6 points and Madi Burch adding 4 points.

They hit the road on Friday and lost to Coffee 63-22 before coming back to Warner Robins to face the Demonettes, who beat them 66-31. Johnson got into double figures with 13 points, Brynli Burch scored 8 points and Brown scored 7 points.

The Lady Eagles will look to get back in the win column as they travel to Peach County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. They also play HoCo on the road on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

Perry

Boys: Perry (3-14, 0-3 Region 1-4A) dropped three games this week, including two region games.

On Tuesday they travelled to Benedictine and fell 64-29 before they came home on Friday and lost to Ware County 66-43. Juju Carswell scored 17 points while Jamarien Greene added 9 points and Keelan Battle added 6 points.

In their final contest of the week they lost to Peach County 65-35, their last game before a two-game road trip.

They’ll travel to Warner Robins on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Then they will take a bit of a longer trip to Wayne County on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. before finishing the week at home against New Hampstead on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Panthers (11-4, 1-1 Region 1-4A) fell in their only region game this week against Ware County, 57-41.

Anna Dean scored 18 points, Kennedi Miller contributed 10 points and Markayle Ragin scored 9 points.

Perry bounced back with a 42-27 win over Peach County, and will look ahead to Warner Robins on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. They also face Wayne County on the road on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. and New Hampstead on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3:30 p.m.

Veterans

Boys: Veterans (9-7, 2-2 Region 2-5A) is on a three-game losing streak after dropping all of their games this week, snapping their seven-game winning streak.

On Tuesday Aiden Sweenor led the scoring with 16 points at Tift County, with Tristen Abner and Trey Byrd scoring 9 and 5 points respectively.

The Warhawks took their first region loss at Lee County on Friday 65-37 before coming back to Houston County on Saturday and losing in the Bear Den 56-39. Sweenor again led in points with 12, Abner scored 9 points and Dawson scored 4 points.

They’ll travel to Bleckley County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. They’ll make a brief stop at home to end a five-game on Friday, Jan. 17 against Thomas County Central at 7:30 p.m. They’ll hit the road again to take on Jones County on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Girls: Lady Warhawks (10-6, 3-1 Region 2-5A) guard Nariah Nelson broke the 1000-point mark with 29 points against Houston County on Saturday in a 72-18 win, Veterans’ only win of the week.

They fell at Tift County 48-42 on Tuesday before hosting Lee County in a close 51-50 loss on Friday.

The Lady ‘Hawks will try to bounce back with a mostly non-region schedule starting this week, starting at Bleckley County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. They will come home for a region matchup against Thomas County Central on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. before heading off to Jones County on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.

Warner Robins

Boys: It might be safe to say that Warner Robins (9-4, 2-0 Region 1-4A) has bounced back from the Screamin’ Demon Invitational.

They’re now sitting at four straight wins, including a 77-31 thrashing of Northside in the Crosstown Showdown on Saturday. Gabe Jacobs had a team-high 16 points, Kam Schmitz, a freshman, had 13 points including three 3-pointers made and Trey Bradley had 11 points in his return to action.

They also won their game against Wayne County on Tuesday 65-35 with Jacobs scoring 15 points, Chandler Dyson adding 13 points and DJ Strickland contributing 10 points.

Their game against Benedictine got postponed until Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. They will get back into region play at home against Perry on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. before hitting the road for five straight games starting with New Hampstead on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Demons will end the week at Ware County on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

Girls: The Demonettes (16-0, 2-0 Region 1-4A) continued their reign of terror this week, outscoring their two opponents by a combined score of 128-63.

In their 62-32 win over Wayne County Trinitee Thomas led with 21 points, Korveanna Slaughter scored 16 points and Chyann Phillips added in 14 points.

In Part 1 of the Crosstown Showdown, Thomas scored a career high 35 points to put away Northside 66-31, while Slaughter and Phillips scored 11 and 10 points respectively.

They will continue their region schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at home against Perry at 6 p.m. before loading up the bus to go to New Hampstead on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. Their final game of the week will be away at Ware County on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

Westfield

Boys: Westfield (5-8, 0-2 District 5-3A) dropped their fourth straight game this week with a loss on Thursday against Calvary Christian.

Hayden Hardy scored 21 points but the Hornets couldn’t overcome an ice cold first half in the 54-43 loss. They also lost at Brookstone 53-48 on Tuesday.

Westfield will try to get back on track at home against St. Anne-Pacelli on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Strong Rock Christian on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Girls: The Lady Hornets (7-6, 2-0 District 5-3A) have made a statement to start district play with two straight wins, and they’ll look to continue that this week.

They beat Brookstone on the road 39-32, and hit their stride in the fourth quarter to put away Calvary Christian 43-31 with Mary Blake Brannen having a team-high 15 points. Hillary Fowler added 10 points and Kate Lane scored 8 points.

They have a couple of tough opponents coming up with St. Anne-Pacelli on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. and Strong Rock Christian on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m.