BOYS HOOPS
For all intents and purposes, the preseason run of Jones County’s basketball season ended on Saturday. And that span came to a close with a victory for the Greyhounds.
A 66-54 win against Westside Macon in the HypeSouth Boys Hardwood Invitational, a Seminoles team ranked seventh in last week’s GHSA Class AAAA rankings, sent Jones County into this past Tuesday’s region opener against Union Grove unbeaten with a record of 4-0.
“It was a good test for us against a good team that was well-coached and had good guards,” Greyhounds head coach Buck Harris said.
Daethan Harris led in scoring with 23 points against Westside with Jaden Stanley having 22.
Jaylen Sanford made some key baskets early before being limited by foul trouble prior to converting critical shots down the stretch to help put the win away.
“I thought we shot it decent.
We paid attention to the scouting report and took away some things that they like to do. They love to move the ball around and look to find shooters,” Harris said of Westside. “Our kids paid close attention to detail and stayed at home against their shooters and did a good job. Stanley stepped up and played well, Daethan got us going and got everyone else involved late in the game.”
But from here on out, games carry more weight for Jones County. The seeding for the region tournament is set by region standings, and the higher a team is seeded improves its draw. So as much as non-region games are for building up momentum, its region games that help in the region standings with non-region games being mixed in. The remaining schedule consists of roughly half the games begin outside region play, starting Saturday at home against Northside.
“We take it one game at a time and look at this time of year as a bit of preseason,” Harris said.
“Each non-region team we face is different in size and talent. It helps us prepare for region.”
