The Brookhaven girls and boys returned to action Tuesday night,to tip off the 2003 portion of their basketball schedule.Brookhaven swept Raymond in three games at the SinclairGymnasium.

The Lady Panthers got a season-high 27 points from senior centerAyana Tillman as Brookhaven held off the Raymond Lady Rangers49-41.

The Brookhaven Panthers capped off the evening with ahard-fought 60-49 win over the Raymond Rangers in the firstDivision 6-4 test for both teams.

Brookhaven defeated Raymond 52-35 in the preliminary JV boysgame.

Brookhaven travels to Lawrence County for Division 6-4A actionFriday. The JV game gets under way at 5 p.m., followed by thevarsity girls game at 6. The varsity boys game is set to begin at7:30.

The Lady Panthers (9-9, 1-0) did not look like a team that hasnot played a game in 9 days. Brookhaven’s last game was Dec. 30, inthe Shake & Bake by the Lake Classic in New Orleans. Head coachBilly Holmes and assistant Terri Hall saw their ballclub author a17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Raymond got 3 treys from Almammrya Marshall in the first period,to keep the Lady Rangers in the hunt. Marshall paced the LadyRangers with 16 points.

Tillman, a 6-foot center, sacked 14 points, pulled down 4rebounds and blocked 5 shots in the period. She was a perfect7-for-7 from the field during the 8-minute stretch.

Raymond (7-5, 0-1), under the direction of Monty McMillen,outscored Brookhaven 7-4 in the second frame to gain 21-21 deadlockat the intermission.

“Brookhaven was just too big for us,” said McMillen. “We triedto wear them down in the second period but we were tooimpatient.”

The Lady Rangers continued to be a thorn in Brookhaven’s side,as they claimed a 32-29 advantage heading into the final period.The Lady Panthers would capture the win by outgaining Raymond 20-9in the period, capped off by a 10-for-16 performance at the charitystripe.

Tillman pulled 16 rebounds and 6 blocked shots, shooting11-for-13 from the field for the game. Kristian McCrary had 8rebounds. Latoria Kerr had 6 rebounds and 3 assists. TiffanyWatkins had 3 steals and dished out 6 assists. Brookhavenoutrebounded Raymond 43-22.

The Panthers (15-2, 1-0) had a bit longerlayoff, last hitting the hardwood on Dec. 27 in the JPS/PepsiHoliday Classic. Brookhaven head coach Ronald Hines was facing hisformer team in Raymond for the first time this season.

“I knew that they (Raymond) would be up for this game,” saidHines. Brookhaven struggled to a 21-18 lead heading into thesecond.

The second period was deadlocked at 8-8, but Hines and assistantDan Presley saw their team lead 29-26 at halftime.

Panther senior guard Dexter Middleton caught fire in the thirdperiod, scoring 9 points as Brookhaven led the Rangers 45-31entering the final stanza. Middleton finished the game with 11points and 3 assists.

Raymond used a 6-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The Rangerscut their deficit to 10 points, 47-37 on a basket by GericAnderson. That would be as close as Raymond would get.

Senior point guard Brandon Caston led the Panther offensive with18 points and 4 assists. Lamar Hall had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 2drawn charges. Jasper Hall had 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

Brookhaven outrebounded the Rangers 32-18. The Pantherscommitted 13 turnovers to Raymond’s 17.

Raymond was led by Chris Watson with 10 points.

In the JV boys game, Brookhaven got 15 pointsfrom Michael Thrasher and 11 from Micah Tanner. Raymond was led byJared Elmore, Bennie Funches and Rashad Nickerson with 8 pointsapiece.