MERIDIAN – The Brookhaven Panthers, under the direction ofnewly-hired head coach Ronald Hines, are making a name forthemselves across the state as they dominated the State Games ofMississippi basketball scene Friday evening with victories overScott Central and Union.

The Panthers beat Scott Central 62-37 and Union 71-61 in thenightcap on the campus of East Central Community College inDecatur. They were scheduled to play Taylorsville Saturday night atNewton.

Brookhaven 62, Scott Central 37

In the first game, the Panthers roared out to a 41-19 lead athalftime, before ending the game on an 11-0 run. The Panthers got17 points and five assists from their point guard Brandon Castonand 14 points from forward Lamar Hall.

Scott Central was led by shooting guard Rod Loper with 15 pointsin the loss.

Brookhaven 71, Union 61

In Game Two, the Panthers used Caston’s sweet three-point touchto gain a 40-34 lead at the half. Caston was 6-for-6 behind theline, with a team- high 20 points alone in the first half.

In the second half, Union outscored the Panthers 27-21.Brookhaven hung on at the end to register the victory.

Caston finished with a game-high 28 points, on six steals andsix assists. Rodney Daniels added 18 points and eight rebounds,while Hall finished with 14 points.

Union swingman Derric Harris had 24 points.

In the other games, South Pike collected a pair of wins overNewton County and Union. The Lady Eagles were led by Erika Hollowayin both wins with 12 points.

The Crystal Springs girls lost to Newton County 47-36 beforegaining their first victory over Taylorsville 65-34 Friday night.Crystal Springs forward Corissa Tillman led the Lady Tigers with 22points in the win.

In other boys action, Jefferson County beat Bay Springs 54-43.Jefferson County guard DeJuan Smith led the Tigers with 11 pointsand three steals while 6-6 center Juan Wyatt finished with 10points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers also collected a 46-35 win over Newton County. Wyattfinished with a game-high 12 points and eight rebounds.