Callaway sparks Warner Robins boys, Mathis paces the girls

WARNER ROBINS -- The Warner Robins Demons got their GHSA Region 2-AAAAA schedule off to a strong start by rolling over Houston County 69-45 Friday night by a score of 69-45.

Marquez Callaway led the way with 16 points, including four dunks, and sophomore Nelson Phillips added 14 points as the Demons were able to pull away in the second half.

Warner Robins and Houston County played a relatively even first quarter with the Demons leading by four, but they outscored Houston County 15-6 in the second quarter for a 27-14 lead. The Demons took over in the third quarter and the lead grew to 21 at 42-21 on a thunderous alley-oop dunk, with the perfect pass coming from Nelson into the hands of Callaway.

After that, the Bears could get no closer than 20 points.

Dayton Hall led the way for Houston County with 16 points.

The Warner Robins girls rolled to a 63-43 win. Le Terria Mathis scored 19 points to pace Warner Robins while Autumn Ring and Asia West both had 10 for Houston County.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Callaway: The senior not only had four dunks, but he also had two 3-pointers and added six rebounds. He was one of the main defenders who frustrated Hall throughout the game.

Phillips: The 6-foot-4 sophomore had only two points in the first half, but caught fire in the second half with 12 points. He had the crowd screaming his name after a thunderous dunk early in the fourth quarter. He also had nine rebounds.

Donovan Brown: The forward had nine points and nine rebounds for the Demons.

TURNING POINT

After a slow first quarter, Warner Robins got it going by dominating the rebounding. After outscoring Houston County 15-6 in the second quarter, the Demons equaled that nine-point gap again in the third quarter.

The rebounding gap was the key with the Demons outrebounding the smaller Bears 41-21 in the game.

Observations

After scoring only 27 points in the first half, Warner Robins' boys stepped up the intensity in the second half and that led to 12 forced turnovers and 42 points. Demons head coach Jamaal Garman was able to substitute freely in the fourth quarter.

THEY SAID IT

Garman on the first half: "The first half was OK, but overall, I really was not happy with our play. We talked about it at the half and we played much better in the third quarter. It was a good win over a good team for us.

Callaway on the four dunks: "I don't know. I really don't think about them until they happen and they always are just in the flow of the game. But the alley-oop was special because everyone just went wild and it really gave us a boost. We know Houston County always plays us tough so it was great to get this win."

UP NEXT

Warner Robins is off for two weeks and Houston County plays in the Bear Brawl that starts next Friday.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Callaway sparks Warner Robins boys, Mathis paces the girls ."