Demons fall to Valdosta in invitational

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The Warner Robins Demons attempted a comeback against the Valdosta Wildcats on Saturday, but had the door slammed shut every time.

The Demons (1-1) lost 71-62 in the Hypesouth Hardwood Invitational, with two last-minute threes from senior guard Cam Perkins to make the score look better.

Head coach Jamaal Garman was not pleased with the effort presented and stressed the importance of getting over this hump as the Demons move farther into the season.

“We didn’t match any type of physicality, there was no intensity on either end of the floor, and it just seemed like we were in zombie mode the whole game. The level of importance of this game, we didn’t take it serious at all and it showed,” Garman said. “Yeah, we lost by nine, but we missed seven free throws. [We] missed however many layups we missed…We gotta get over that hump. This is what I’ve always feared about this team. Coming into games like this and not meeting the level of expectation. So I gotta get better with it.”

Warner Robins had several runs in the second half attempting to get back into the game, but Valdosta always answered with a run of their own.

Late in the third the Demons pulled within 11 after a 9-3 run but the ‘Cats answered with a 6-2 run to go up 53-39 with seven minutes to play.

The Demons pulled within 10 twice in the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 and 10-5 run put them away each time.

The second quarter is what hurt Warner Robins the most as Valdosta outscored them 19-9 after a close first quarter.

There were several reasons the Demons couldn’t keep up according to Garman.

“Easy baskets, wide open threes [for Valdosta], not rotating the proper way on the defensive end. Not hustling, not playing at top speed on the defensive end…It’s just a combination of a lot of things and they were able to take advantage of those,” Garman said. “They knocked down their free throws. I don’t think they missed but maybe two for the whole game so that was a part of it.”

Warner Robins had nine days off before playing Valdosta, and that’s something Garman thinks hurt them in Saturday’s effort.

“[The days off] definitely hurt because [Valdosta] had two games in between last Saturday. All those off days really, really hurt,” Garman said. “I mean, you got Turkey Day in between all that. You gotta come out and play after you got fat all Thursday…But you still had the opportunity to come in and play the game the right way and win. We didn’t do it.”

There’s a few things Garman wants to see from his team to avoid a similar fate to last year.

“[Know] what the name on the front of your jersey says, and [know] that that brings a lot of attention, and people want to beat that name on the front of that jersey every single time they have an opportunity to do it,” Garman said. “You’re going to have to come with a level of intensity and focus that is like no other. Every single game…If you want to win, that’s what you’re going to have to do. If not, then we’ll just be a mediocre team. We’ll fall off like we did last year and not make state playoffs, and go on into the off season and get ready for next year’s game.”

UP NEXT

The Demons get a shot at redemption on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at home against Locust Grove (2-3). The Demonettes will play at 6 p.m. and the Demons will follow.

The two teams will also play at home on Thursday, Nov. 30 against Union Grove starting at 6 p.m. and at home again on Saturday, Dec. 2 against Peach County starting at 5 p.m.

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