JACKSON — A day after torrential rains pounded Mississippi, theJim Hill Tigers rained nine 3-point baskets on the BrookhavenPanthers Friday night, to the tune of a 72-58 Division 6-4A victoryin the Capital City. In the varsity girls game, the Brookhaven LadyPanthers made 12-of-19 free throws in the fourth quarter, to holdoff a very stubborn Jim Hill Lady Tiger squad 46-39.

The Jim Hill boys are ranked No. 8 in a Jackson-area poll.

Both teams have key Division 6-4A tests Tuesday. Brookhavenhosts Terry in Sinclair Gym, while Jim Hill takes on South Pike.The Division 6-4A Tournament will be held Feb. 17-20, atMcComb.

Jim Hill 72, Brookhaven 58

The division-leading Tigers (19-6, 7-2) flooded the Tiger Denwith a barrage of treys. Guard Lorenzo Bailey authored the stormwith 14 points (4 treys) in the opening 8 minutes, as Jim Hillcarried a 21-11 lead into the second quarter. Bailey led head coachFred Harris’ ballclub with 19 points.

Jim Hill continued to master the 3-point game in the secondperiod. Bailey and Sollie Norwood (2) sacked treys, as the Tigerscarried 40-26 lead into the halftime locker room.

Brookhaven (13-14, 4-6) tried to counter with Jasper Hall’s3-point shooting. He hit 3 treys in the first half and finishedwith 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists for head coach RonaldHines.

The Panthers trailed by as many as 22 points and never cut theirdeficit under single digits after the first period.

Both teams scored 32 points in the second half but the Panthersonly scored 9 points in the pivotal third frame.

Following Bailey for Jim Hill were Deonte Oscar and Norwood with14 points apiece. Dandy Dozen senior Stanford Speech tossed in 13points.

Lending support for Brookhaven were Jermaine Culver with 13points and Rodney Daniels with 10. Tobias grabbed a school-record22 rebounds and blocked 4 Jim Hill shots. Daniels had 3 steals,while Culver had 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.

Tobias set the previous record of 21 rebounds on Jan. 30, atMcComb.

Brookhaven 46, Jim Hill 39

The Lady Panthers (16-11, 7-3), No. 3 in the division race, werelooking to continue a 3-game winning. The last Brookhaven loss cameon Jan. 22, at Wingfield.

Brookhaven, under the direction of Billy Holmes, struggled inthe early moments. Holmes’ ballclub trailed 8-7 at the end of thefirst quarter.

Neither team was able get a huge lead but the Lady Panthers wereable to capitalize at the charity stripe. Chiquita Rancifer sacked5-of-6 free throws in the second period, aiding her teammates to a1-point lead, 19-18 at halftime. Rancifer finished with 10 pointsand 4 steals.

Brookhaven was 24-for-38 from the free throw line on the night.The Lady Panthers made only 11 field goals in the game.

“We hit some big free throws near the end,” said Holmes. “Weneed to get better on our shot selection.”

Jim Hill, coached by Stanley Jimmerson, stayed in the game withhustle on both ends of the floor. A balanced scoring attack saw thegame tied at 32-32 entering the final stanza.

The Lady Tigers got a trey from Lakeitha Williams and a basketfrom freshmen Bridget Taylor. Taylor and Lanesha Palmer hitindividual free throws, but Jim Hill could not muster any moreoffense. Williams led Jimmerson’s ballclub with 9 points.

Lady Panther Anna Autman led all scorers with 11 points, alongwith 8 rebounds. Kristian McCray had 3 steals. Latoria Kerr dishedout 3 assists.