Here’s how Macon teams fared at HypeSouth’s hoops event

Several Macon basketball teams competed in the Hypesouth Hardwood Invitational on Central High School’s court in Macon last week. The event pitted teams from across Georgia against each other in non-region showdowns in boys games Nov. 29 and girls games Nov. 22.

The event featured Southwest, Westside and Central in addition to other Middle Georgia teams like Baldwin, Warner Robins and Houston County.

On the boys side, the Southwest Patriots unsurprisingly looked solid. The Patriots, who are 3-2 so far and still ranked No. 2 in the state among Class A-Division I schools, snagged an 80-74 overtime victory against Monroe-Albany in the fifth game of the invitational with another superb scoring effort from star guard CJ Howard.

Howard netted 30 points — the second-most of any player at the invitational, according to Hypesouth — to continue his hot start to the 2025-26 campaign. The senior is averaging more than 21 points per game and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win over Monroe.

Fellow senior leader Chase Dupree was no slouch either, chipping in 20 points in the win over Monroe along with six boards and three assists. Dupree has been an even more prolific scorer than Howard thus far, averaging 30 points per game through Southwest’s five games, per MaxPreps statistics.

The Westside boys had a tougher go of it during the invitational, losing to Warner Robins 63-43 after the Demons exploded for 27 points in the third quarter to run away with the contest in the second half.

Warner Robins only led 20-18 at the break, but things got out of hand for the Seminoles after intermission. Junior Jalen Whitley led Westside with a 19-point effort, but no other Seminole had more than eight points.

The Central boys played the invitational’s first game at 11 a.m., losing 65-56 to New Hampstead despite getting 26 points from returning star Jarvis Williams. The Chargers have an inexperienced roster after several players graduated or transferred during the summer.

The Westside girls appeared at the Nov. 22 edition of the classic, falling to Washington County 60-54. Standout guard Dominique Billue continued to put up numbers for the ‘Noles with 18 points. D’asja Harris followed with 16 points. Westside followed the loss up with an impressive 55-48 victory over Northside-Warner Robins on Nov. 25 in which Billue dropped 24 points.

The Central girls lost a heartbreaker as the host team of the invitational against Bacon County. The Raiders defeated Central 63-57 in overtime, giving the Chargers an uncharacteristic loss for the second time early this year. JaMyree Simmons starred for Central despite the loss, netting 23 points and 10 rebounds.

 Here’s a complete list of scores from the boys and girls invitationals:

Girls scores (Nov. 22)

• Bacon County 63, Central-Macon 57 (OT)
• Spencer 41, Veterans 30
• Washington County 60, Westside-Macon 54
• Warner Robins 65, Thomson 59
• Monroe-Albany 76, Baldwin 52
• Jones County 55, Lee County 33

Boys scores (Nov. 29)

• New Hampstead 65, Central-Macon 56
• Warner Robins 63, Westside-Macon 43
• Peach County 58, Johnson-Savannah 49
• Baldwin 73, Beach 46
• Southwest-Macon 80, Monroe-Albany 74
• Houston County 65, Putnam 64