The LaGrange Grangers were reeling.

Leading 40-27 at the half, the Grangers found themselves clinging to a one-point lead with six minutes left in the game.

The Grangers had gone more than more than nine minutes without making a shot from the field, and Lithia Springs was on a 17-3 run to get within one.

“Give them credit for hanging in there, but we let them hang in there because we didn’t run anything offensively,” LaGrange head coach Mike Pauley said. “We were stymied.”

Fortunately for the Grangers, the offensive stagnation didn’t last.

Beginning with a Baron Smith steal and layup, the Grangers went on a 10-0 run that once again broke the game open.

The Grangers went on to capture a 69-53 victory in their season opener.

“There was no ball movement, no ball flow,” Pauley said. “As soon as we got away from that, we pulled away.”

The Grangers led by as many as 15 points early in the third period, but that lead was down to 45-39 by the close of the quarter.

Lithia Springs scored the first five points of the fourth period, with Beau Carter’s 3-pointer trimming the lead to one with 6:04 left in the game.

The Lions then got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Smith came up with a steal, and the ensuing layup seemed to wake the Grangers up.

Kwame Brown added back-to-back baskets, including a dunk with 4:35 left in the game that brought the fans to their feet.

A layup by Justyn Olson followed by a jumper by Don Leak gave the Grangers a 55-44 lead, and they didn’t look back.

“We’re pretty excited about the start (to the season),” Pauley said.

Brown led a balanced scoring effort with 17 points, and Olson added 12 points.

Leak chipped in with 12 points, and Smith and Drew Moody scored 10 points apiece.

LaGrange will be back in action on Tuesday at home against East Coweta.