Some might see it as a slim chance, but it’s a chance.
That is: Veterans’ boys’ hopes of making it back-to-back Region 1-AAAAA championships and getting that all-important No. 1 seed in the state tournament. The boys kept those prospects alive with a 50-45 win over Warner Robins Saturday at Veterans.
With the win, the Warhawks improved to 5-2 in the division, 14-10 overall. The Demons, having their 13-game winning streak stopped, moved to 6-1, 15-6.
Veterans’ hope then lies in a Coffee win over Warner Robins (in control of its own destiny) Feb. 1, coupled with it beating Wayne County Feb. 4. (The Warhawks lost 71-63 at Coffee Friday.) Both are road games for the local squads. A Warner Robins loss and a Veterans win would bring a coin toss into play for the top seed in the standings heading into the region tournament Feb. 9 and 11 (location: TBD). Warner Robins has already beaten the Trojans once, 61-52 back on Jan. 18, and Veterans has already beaten the Yellow Jackets once, but only by a basket, 65-63, back on Jan. 21.
As far as Saturday’s game, it was as expected: hard-fought throughout. The two were tied at 39 in the fourth quarter before when the Warhawks were able to slip away – making it 45-39 with a couple of minutes to play and then doing enough to keep it that way.
The Demons missed a pair of 3-point attempts within the final few seconds whereas Jeremy Sams’ one-of-two from the free-throw line with nine seconds remaining pretty much sealed the deal.
D.J. Wright and Chandler Thomas each finished with 10 to lead Veterans – Thomas’ all came in the second half. Tajh Williams and Aaron Jones each had nine and Sams eight.
Cam Perkins led the Demons with 12. Jordyan Keith had nine, Gabriel Jacobs seven and Daveon Walker six.
Warner Robins’ girls won the early game, 57-47. That marked their second win over the Lady Warhawks. They beat them 65-40 back on Jan. 15. They also play Coffee Feb. 1, but with their 11th-straight win improved to 7-0 in the region, 19-5 overall, and easily locked in the region tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Veterans, which fell 47-33 to Ware County Friday, fell to 1-6, 8-16.
Elsewhere, Northside’s girls and boys both fell at Lee County Friday for a Region 1-AAAAAA. (They were also at Westside Saturday in a non-region matchup, but no scores were reported as of this posting.)
The Lady Eagles fell 53-50. The boys lost 72-52. The girls fell to 1-5, 9-9. The Lady Trojans improved to 2-3, 15-4. (With a 60-55 win over Valdosta Saturday.) The boys dropped to 0-6, 2-14. The Trojans improved to 4-1, 14-8. (Were 4-0 but lost 57-51 to Valdosta.)
Speaking of Valdosta … It hosted Houston County Friday. The Bears beat it 52-48 but the girls had their six-game win streak snapped and were upset (they beat the Lady Wildcats 64-45 back on Jan. 8) 47-41.
Houston County’s boys, with a 78-64 non-region win over Crisp County Saturday, improved to 3-2 in the region, 7-12 overall. The Lady Bears, with a 76-51 win over Crisp County, stand at 4-1, 16-3.
Finally, Perry was at West Laurens Friday for a Region 4-AAAA matchup and then at home against Macon County Saturday in a non-region contest.
The Lady Panthers lost the one that meant the most – the Lady Raiders – 59-36. They rebounded to beat Macon County 42-24 and stand at 4-5, 6-13.
The boys’ score against the Raiders was as of yet not reported. They beat Macon County 60-55 to improve to 9-8 overall.
Both the Perry clubs have three region games left, next week: Howard at home, Westside on the road and Spalding at home.
