With revenge on its mind, Hiram took on Lithia Springs for a second time and the result was the same as the first.

After losing a regular-season meeting 58-52 at Lithia Springs, the Hornets suffered the same fate, falling to the state-ranked squad 77-67 in the second-round of the Class AAAA State Basketball Tournament.

In a packed Hiram Gym, the teams tipped off, looking to advance to the third round of the tournament.

Throughout the first quarter, both teams were caught in a shootout, with the Hornets’ Marcus Brown and Loren Hall hitting some big three-pointers to keep the game close, However, Lithia came out on top 17-13.

In the second quarter, the Hornets came back from a nine-point deficit to keep the game within reach. Lithia Springs still led at the half, 36-33.

Neither team could take control in the third quarter, leaving Lithia on top 52-49.

The fourth quarter, usually a great quarter for the Hornets, saw the Lions stop the Hornet offense while continuing to score on their end.

The Hornets finish their season with a 26-5 record, a great improvement from last year’s 11-14 record.

Brown led the Hornets with 16 points.

Busy baseball action

With baseball season now in motion, teams all over the county are playing their best to prepare for region play.

The South Paulding Spartans were busy last week, playing four games in seven days.

March 1 and 4, South Paulding routed its opponents, beating Rockmart 12-3 and Cherokee 11-1.

Friday night the Spartans took the road at Johns Creek, a new school that upset the Spartans 7-1.

After the loss, the Spartans came back home on Saturday to play Chattahoochee, winning 4-1.

Bradley Mills had 10 strikeouts, getting the win over Chattahoochee.

The Spartans’ record improves to 4-2.

North Paulding played twice last week, beating Paulding County 12-6 March 3 but falling to Kennesaw Mountain 9-3.

By the end of the week, the Wolfpack’s record was even at 2-2.

The East Paulding Raiders took the field three times last week.

The Raiders beat the Patriots 12-3 March 1.

East Paulding lost 5-4 Friday and Saturday to South Forsyth and Redan, respectively.

The Raiders’ record drops to 2-3 on the season.

The Hornets faced Carrollton March 1, falling 11-5.

Last Thursday and Friday, the Hornets played two games against Chapel Hill, losing 5-1 and 8-0. Friday, Chapel Hill’s Martin Castro pitched a perfect game against Hiram, striking out 12 of the 21 batters he faced.

Hiram’s overall record fell to 1-5.

Paulding County dropped two games last week, losing to East Paulding and North Paulding.

County boys tennis

Spring ushers in the tennis season, and last week the Paulding County boys tennis championships were held.

South Paulding came out on top, with North Paulding finishing second and East Paulding placing third.



Baseball

schedule

Thursday

Paulding County at Campbell

Haralson County at South Paulding

Friday

South Paulding at McEachern

East Paulding at Hiram

Saturday

South Forsyth at North Paulding

Chattahoochee at North Paulding

South Paulding at Central Carrollton