Savannah — In three previous trips to the state playoffs, Hiram had never won a game.

Now, the Hornets are headed to the Class AAAAA semifinals after a 70-65 win over Stephenson on Saturday at Savannah State University.

Hiram relied on clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to earn a date with top-ranked Wheeler.

"It's exciting, and I'm happy for the kids," Hiram coach Markus Hood said. "Just three years ago we were just 4-22. I feel we got this going in the right direction."

Their big test will come Thursday at the Gwinnett Arena against the Wildcats, who haven't lost to a team in Georgia all season.

"We are not going to get caught up in the emotion of the final four," Hood said. "I'm sure nobody is going to give us a chance. We have a lot of heart inside."

And his thoughts on nationally ranked Wheeler?

"They are like a small college," Hood said. "We are just small potatoes."

In the final two minutes, Hiram was 9 of 11 on free throws, with senior guard Stewart Clark making eight. The 5-foot-9 guard made three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt to give the Hornets a 63-62 lead with two minutes remaining.

The Jaguars (21-8) could not recover. Stephenson's William Tolefree picked up his fifth foul on Clark's 3-point attempt. On three key possessions after Clark's free throws, Stephenson had two turnovers and took an erratic shot on another.

The 6-foot-6 Tolefree finished with 16 points.

"It was real big when he left the game," Clark said. "He is real good."

Clark, who has more than 1,000 career points, finished with a game-high 25 and Justin Garner had 20.

"Those free throws were clutch by him," Hood said. "He is so poised. We have told the guys if they hit their free throws, it will take us far. We spend a lot of time on them."

Clark said a 79-76 loss to East Coweta on Jan. 18 in which the Hornets made 14 of 30 from the free-throw line made them concentrate more on that aspect of the game.

"If you knock them down, you win the game," Clark said.