Lithia Springs dominated on the final day of the first annual Carrollton Tourney Saturday. The Lithia Springs boys defeated Riverdale in their final tourney game, 74-64. The Lady Lions took on Bannicker on the final day, winning in dominating fashion against Bannicker, 61-26.

The Lions started slowly but gradually built momentum as the game went on. They led 14-12 after the first quarter and 27-23 at halftime. They went up 50-38 in the third and build as much as an 18 point lead in the fourth.

“Early in the game there were a lot of fouls being called and we could not get into a rhythm,” said LSHS boys coach JW Cantrell. “Neil [Phillips] fouled out early but everyone else was able to step up and we will take the win.”

Beau Carter led the Lions with 25 points.

“He played really well and attacked the basket,” Cantrell said. “He started the game by hitting three 3’s and I knew he was in for a good night from there.”

Miles Howard added 17 points and Titus Vick followed with 10.

Lithia Springs started slowing and trailed 9-7 after the first quarter. By halftime they were up 18-14 and took a 39-20 lead after the third. The Lady Lions outscored Bannicker 43-12 in the second half.

“We started defending in a 1-3-1 and they struggled to score,” said LSHS girls coach David Mills. “We were able to run out the game with 3’s and layups.”

Lithia went 1-2 while in Carrollton over the past few days but overall, Mills was not too disappointed in the performance with both loses coming against teams with a combined 40-7 record.

“This was a strong tournament, stronger than we anticipated,” Mills said. “I wish we could have pulled out Friday’s game but we learned from it and pulled together Saturday.”

The Lady Lions managed to get the dominating win even with leading scorer Tashara Jones sitting out due to unspecified reasons. Selena Crummie stepped up up game, especially in the second half, scoring 19 points. All but second were scored over the final two quarters.

“She started slower than she should have after being double teamed for the first half,” Mills said. She was able to get some one-on-ones in the second half, was able to run the floor and hit some layups.”

Tobreshia Horn netted 13 points for Lithia.

Lithia Springs will take the Christmas and New Years break off and come back ready to play on Jan.4 when they travel to Villa Rica for a 7 p.m. girls game and 8:30 p.m. boys game.