Warner Robins boys explode in second half of Hypesouth Hardwood Invitational to beat Westside-Macon

MACON — It truly was a tale of two halves on Saturday as the Warner Robins Demons (2-2) exploded after halftime to take down the Westside-Macon Seminoles (0-2) 63-43 at Central High School.

An ugly first two quarters of the Hypesouth Hardwood Invitational’s second game saw the Demons narrowly ahead 20-18 at the break. Jamaal Garman’s team was able to execute some of their notorious defensive pressure but they couldn’t convert at the other end.

There were more than a few misses at or close to the rim and Warner Robins was 0-of-4 on free throws in the first half and 7-of-25 overall.

“No that was just today, man, because the last three games we shot free throws very, very well,” Garman said on if this was a one-time problem for the Demons. “Today we get here and we miss 18 free throws and a ton more layups right by the goal. So it’s just a one-game thing, that’s what I’m going to speak it into existence as, and we’re going to continue to work and do what we’re supposed to do.”

Despite the offensive woes of the initial two quarters, Warner Robins came out and looked like a completely different team in the third.

Their full-court defensive pressure ramped up to 10 and the ‘Noles did not deal with it well. The Demons got out in the fast break and attacked the rim, converting on enough opportunities to put on a 16-0 run through the first four minutes.

Even though Westside’s Trent Pearson scored to break the run with 3:43 to go until the fourth, Warner Robins continued to outscore the ‘Noles 27-7 in the third quarter and 43-25 in the second half.

“We definitely said some great things at halftime to get those guys to understand the mindset we need to attack this game with,” Garman said. “So they came out in the second half and did a real good job of rotating and staying in front of their man defensively, so they created a lot of turnovers for us and that helped us out a lot.”

UP NEXT

Warner Robins got back up to .500 with the win, and they’ll have a rematch with county rival Houston County on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Westside will also face a county rival next as they host Howard on Monday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. as they search for their first win.