This past week did not go well for the remaining local basketball teams in Houston Co as four of the five teams saw their seasons come to an end in the Sweet 16.
Last Tuesday night, the Houston Co Lady Bears suffered a 65-55 loss against the Johns Creek Lady Gladiators. The Lady Bears opened strong with 6 points right off the bat. Johns Creek was quick to flip the script though, finishing the first quarter with an 11-3 run. Houston Co appeared to be coming back in the second quarter and ended the first half with a leading score of 37-31. After that brief glimmer of hope, the Bears had a disastrous second half and wound up losing by 10.
The Houston Co Bears Boys team traveled to play at Tri-Cities last Wednesday and ended their season with a 79-67 loss. This was a game in which the Bears just seemed outmatched from the start. The first half ended with Houston already down by 10 (32-22) and things only got worse in the second. A disappointing end to the Bear’s season.
This past Thursday, the Warner Robins Demons hosted the Kell Longhorns from Marietta and suffered a stunning 60-53 home-loss. At one point in the first, Kell was down 8-2 but they managed to come back some and finish the first while only down by two. It was in the second that Kell turned on and utterly decimated the Demons, outscoring them 22-10. By halftime, Kell was leading by 10. Though the Demons came back some in the second half (outscoring the longhorns 26-23), it wasn’t enough to overcome Kell’s imposing lead. The Demons probably had the best chance of winning the State-Title but having now been eliminated, it seems they have to wait and have another try next year.
The Veterans Warhawks Boys team, who were nearly as talented as the Demons, hosted the very adept Lithonia Bulldogs on Thursday and ended up losing 78-68. The Warhawks started out with a promising 8-0 lead early on. The tide soon changed however, and the Veterans team wound up trailing by 8 at the half. The two teams went back and forth and kept up with one another’s scoring throughout most of the second half. It was only near the end of the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs were able to get up by 16 and run away with it. The Veterans team fought back hard and at one point got it down to a 7-point game. The Warhawks stayed alive throughout and performed better than many fans predicted. At the end of the night though, it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulldogs.
The Veterans Lady Warhawks were the only Houston Co team to come out victorious in their Sweet 16 matchup. The girls hosted the 4-seed Rome Lady Wolves in a game which went into overtime and finally concluded with the Warhawks winning 67-62. It was a true nail-biter in which neither team led by more than 6 pts the whole game. Star player Stacie Jones made a clutch 2-point field goal with just under 40 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 53. Once in overtime, Lady Warhawk player Tamia Luckey made two clutch 3 pointers and Ansley Miranda made critical free throws to keep the Lady Wolves at bay. With this clutch victory behind them, the Lady Warhawks now move into the Elite 8 and will travel to take on the very talented Eagle’s Landing Lady Golden Eagles team on Tuesday, February 25th for a matchup that will decide who enters the Final 4.