Jacolbey Owens comes up big for Warner Robins

Thanks to Jacolbey Owens, Warner Robins boys basketball head coach Jamaal Garman will never have any trouble recalling the 100th victory of his career.

Owens swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday afternoon to lift the Demons to a 60-57 victory over city rival Northside in a GHSA Region 2B-AAAAA game at an overflow Warner Robins gym. The win was the seventh straight for Warner Robins (13-2, 4-0 region).

The sophomore guard, who finished with eight points, came up with the game-winner after the Demons thwarted the final possession of the Eagles (10-9, 1-3) with a turnover in the lane. Northside had its chance for the win after forcing the Demons into a turnover with 8.9 seconds left.

Garman was presented with a signed, framed picture and signed basketball in a glass case after the win to commemorate the milestone in his career.

FIVE WHO MATTERED

Nelson Phillips: The willowy forward topped Warner Robins with 16 points, a dozen coming on 3-pointers.

Tracy King: The guard ­followed Phillips with 13 points, nine coming on 3-pointers.

Tobias Oliver, Jaylan Sandifer and Devonta Willis: The Northside trio combined to score 19 straight points after the Eagles fell behind 40-33 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Oliver (12 points for the game) had eight points in the spurt while Sandifer (14) had six and Willis (14) had five as Northside took a 52-48 lead, its biggest and last of the game.

TURNING POINT

Warner Robins defense was stellar in the final seconds to set up Owens' winning shot.

The Demons were helped by a foul situation in which they committed only two in the second half, meaning they could foul the Eagles out on the floor without worry of giving up a foul shot.

Northside inbounded the ball near midcourt, and the Demons promptly fouled to drain the clock to 6.3 seconds. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Northside got the ball in the lane but lost possession in a crowd. and the Demons tossed a pass toward the other end of the floor.

Owens scooped up the ball, squared his body and let the shot fly from 35 feet, with the ball going right through the net as the buzzer sounded. Immediately, Owens was mobbed by teammates and fans who stormed the court.

OBSERVATIONS

In touch: The fact the game ended on a buzzer-beater was indicative of the its flow. Neither trailing team lost touch of the leader with Warner Robins' biggest lead at seven points and Northside's four.

Short spurts: Neither team was able to score more than nine straight points. That spurt came from the Demons after Northside took its biggest lead at 52-48 with 5:54 left in the game.

Late comeback: The Eagles promptly answered the 57-52 deficit with five straight points to set up the memorable finish.

WORTH MENTIONING

Triple shot: Exactly half of Warner Robins' points came on 3-pointers. Northside countered with seven.

Quick strike: Marquaevious Williams, who finished with 11 points for Northside, scored seven straight to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 17-15 early in the second quarter.

ALSO SATURDAY AFTERNOON

The Warner Robins girls continued their strong season with a 64-59 win over Northside. LeTerria Mathis led the Demons (15-1, 4-0) with 16 points, with Victoria Brown and Kezia Holmes each adding 11. Alexia Galloway had 28 points for Northside (10-9, 1-3).

THEY SAID IT

Northside head coach Matthew Simon: "Both teams played hard, and it came down to a couple breaks here and there and they got the last one. A game like this comes down to making plays, and they made one and hit the shot so give them credit. I told our guys they didn't need to hang their heads. They were down by seven that late and came back to have a possession to win. It was just great game."

Owens on his game-winning shot: "(My) shot hadn't been working all game, so I tried to keep my head in focus and keep my body straight like Coach said. I'd been turning (body) all game and couldn't hit anything. ... As soon as I picked (ball) up, I turned around to get square and shot. I didn't know where I was or how much time there was."

Garman on Owens' shot: "It was about time (laugh). He had a terrible shooting day (Saturday), but he stuck with it. He could've easily just thrown that last one up, but he didn't. He shot it like he normally shoots, squared up and in rhythm."

Simon on his team's final possession: "We wanted to penetrate to the basket and dish it off. We drew that up and that's exactly what happened, but unfortunately our guy fumbled (ball) a little bit and they came up with it and hit the shot."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Northside is home against Houston County on Tuesday. Warner Robins is at Houston County on Friday.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Jacolbey Owens comes up big for Warner Robins ."