GHSA Region 2B-AAAAA races coming to a close

Warner Robins boys head coach Jamaal Garman got a lot more than his 100th win Saturday when JaColbey Owens hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Northside.

The win allowed the Demons to remain undefeated in GHSA Region 2B-AAAAA at 4-0 and knocked the Eagles out of the race as they fell to 1-3 in the region. Only Jones County, at 3-1, still has a chance to challenge the Demons for the top seed from the sub-region heading into the region tournament.

"We obviously want the No. 1 seed on our side of the region because we will play a No. 4 seed in the first round, but it still can be tricky because sometimes that side might have four great teams," said Garman, whose team is 13-4. "We know that we have two difficult games left with Houston County and then going to Jones County, and we just have to keep improving on things like free-throw shooting and rebounding.

"We don't play until Friday night, which gives us some time to work on some things, and we won't be overlooking Houston County. They have a very good basketball team, and we are not good enough to overlook anyone."

With eight seniors on the roster, including standouts Marquez Callaway, Donovan Brown and Tracey King, Garman admits that the goals of this Warner Robins team might be a little higher.

"Only four of these seniors have a lot of varsity experience, but every one of them are true leaders and an extension of me on and off the court," Garman said. "We feel like winning region and state are our goals. We know that we have been to the mountain but not to the top and that is why we work hard every single day."

Jones County, which is led by Devin Wooten's 25 points per game, suffered its only sub-region loss to Warner Robins. The Greyhounds face Northside, a team they beat by one point in the first meeting, and then close with Warner Robins. If the Greyhounds beat Northside on Tuesday, they will clinch the No. 2 seed. Houston County is winless in region play.

The Warner Robins girls are also cruising, with a record of 15-1 and 4-0 in sub-region play, while Northside and Jones County are both 2-2. The Houston County girls are also winless in the region. That sets up an important game Tuesday with Jones County traveling to Northside.

"We have been keeping an eye on the other side of the region, and it seems like they have two dominating teams, so staying out of the three or four spot is very important," said Jones County girls head coach Lance Pittman, whose team lost to Northside by one point in the first meeting. "Tuesday night is huge for us, and I think we match up very well with Northside. We were not at full strength the first time we played them, but Northside is used to being good, and I am sure it will be a great game."

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "GHSA Region 2B-AAAAA races coming to a close ."