Unbeaten Sequoyah Defeats Lithia Springs

 was shown Saturday why the Sequoyah Chiefs are unbeaten this season.

The Lions were done in by a suffocating defense and superb point-guard play as they ended their season with a 71-51 loss in the first round of the state tournament.

Lithia Springs head coach Jason Slate would not concede that Sequoyah was the more talented team, but he did see them doing things that his team just couldn’t match.

“I thought they were not any better than us, but I thought they were more physical," he said. "They were a more veteran team. When they got contact, they finished."

Slate continued: "We got layup after layup after layup, put-backs wide open under the goal. Didn’t make it. If you make some of those shots, all of a sudden it’s a whole different game."

Slate described how the Chiefs retrieved loose balls and made free throws.

"You know, all the things that a veteran team that’s going to move on in the state does," he said. "And we didn’t do it.”

If there was one position, however, where Sequoyah had a clear advantage, the point guard spot was it. Lithia Springs never managed to slow down the speed and penetration of Sequoyah’s Sean Tate, who finished with a game-high 28 points.

“It was very frustrating," Slate said. "The plan was to do our squeeze package and keep the ball out of his hands. And when he did get it, we were supposed to get back and match up."

“But you talk about something else with a young team," the coach added. "We had folks that didn’t even line up properly. We had folks that couldn’t match up with their man. I’m like, ‘Hey guys, they only play six guys. It’s real easy to see who comes in.’ We’ve got to get smarter basketball-wise.”

The Lions kept pace with the top-ranked Chiefs for two and a half quarters. But Sequoyah finished the third quarter on an 11-2 run that put the Lions down 47-34. They never got any closer than nine points behind after that.

It’s a relatively early end to the season for Lithia Springs, which has advanced at least to the second round of the state tournament in four of the past six years. Slate attributed a relatively young roster to the early exit—only one senior that played significant minutes this season will not be returning.

“I think a lot of times when you’re young, you don’t have the hunger because you always think, ‘I’ve got next year or the year after,’” Slate said. “But you never know: This could be your year, and we didn’t have that urgency. I don’t think all year we played Lithia Springs, hard-nosed, physical, dive-on-the-floor basketball. And we saw it tonight.”

Johnathan Walker paced the Lions with 13 points off the bench. Bobby Brown had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Femi Ojuolape added 11 points.

The Lions finished the season with a record of 16-12.