Hiram’s championship season came to an end last Wednesday as the Hornets were downed by Lithia Springs 77-67 in the second round of the Class AAAA state tournament.

The loss dropped Hiram 26-5 on the season and ended a nine-game winning streak that carried the Hornets to the Region 7 title.

Head coach Jermaine Sellers said with two evenly-matched teams on the floor, Lithia Springs executed when they had to.

“I think they came out with more intensity than we did,” he said. “They came out ready to play, and in the beginning, we weren’t able to match that. We stuck with it throughout and played strong in the fourth quarter. I think the deciding factor in the fourth quarter was where they dominated us inside.”

Despite the loss, Hiram has risen to one of the elite teams in a region filled with competitive programs, something Sellers said was dictated by the players’ diligence and belief in the program.

“I am overwhelmed, I guess,” he said. “The players really bought into what we were doing as coaches and really worked hard. In some people’s eyes, we overachieved, but we are just proud of the work they put in to have a successful season.”

After being known in the area as a power on the hardwood for years, Sellers said he felt the Hornets have reaffirmed their place as a perennial playoff contender.

“I told them after the game that the standard has been set at Hiram,” he said. “We can’t go backwards, we can only go forwards.

“We just want to work hard and try to achieve our goals year in and out.”

Lithia Springs’ season also came to an end last Friday as the Lions lost to Miller Grove 65-47 in Lithonia.

The loss dropped Lithia Springs to 24-6 on the season and matched the first Elite Eight appearance for the Lions since 2008, which also ended against Miller Grove.

“I saw us jump all over them and lead the whole first half,” Lithia Springs coach Jason Slate said.

“Then, mysteriously, we have got half our team sitting over there with two fouls. We had play kids that didn’t really need to be in that game and allowed them to get back into that ballgame.

“Once they caught us, they went to their zone and spread it out all over the floor. We couldn’t buy a shot, they were able to slow the pace of the game down and they won.”

Still, the season was a successful one for a team that has become a perennial power in Region 5-AAAA.

This year marked the third in a row where Lithia Springs won at least 20 games and a fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament.

“I thought we did get a lot better from the beginning of the year to the end,” Slate said. “That does say a lot about the kids and how they worked. Losing as many kids as we did off of last year’s team and then coming back and going to the Elite Eight again, that felt good.”

The Lions will face a tall order next year replacing seniors David Taylor, Justin Champion, Deionte Griffith, Trey Bussey, Malcolm Buckhalter and Larry Prueitt.

“I definitely think we will be going back to square one,” Slate said. “We will be losing four or five starters. We lose a couple of our top subs off the bench. So, it’s going to be interesting.”