The 2005 Brookhaven Invitational Tournament got under way Mondayin Sinclair Gymnasium with four first-round matchups.

South Pike and Brookhaven made clean sweeps of Tylertown andWesson respectively. The South Pike Lady Eagles beat the LadyChiefs 54-46, while the Eagles jetted past the Chiefs 77-57. In thenightcaps, the Brookhaven Lady Panthers smashed the Lady Cobras69-38. The Panthers escaped with a 60-54 win over the Cobras.

The final 4 games of the opening round will be played onWednesday night. A Bogue Chitto/Hinds AHS doubleheader tips off at4 p.m. The McComb/Wilkinson Co. twinbill kicks off around 6:30.

Brookhaven and South Pike will meet in a semifinal doubleheaderbeginning at 6:30 Thursday. Wesson and Tylertown will meet inlosers bracket matchup Saturday, with the girls game at 11 a.m.,and the boys game at 2:45 p.m.

The change in the schedule is due to the South Pike and McCombfootball teams participating in the state playoffs Fridaynight.

South Pike 54, Tylertown 46

The Lady Chiefs (2-2) were led by Octavia Bearden with agame-high 21 points. Kampatreece Slocum followed with 12 points.Tylertown is coached by Lavern Lee.

The Lady Eagles (3-1), coached by Marcus Flippin, were led byAddison with 11 points and Quinetta Jackson with 10.

South Pike 77, Tylertown 57

The Eagles (3-1) placed 4 players in double figures, led byBrandon Duplesis with a game-high 18 points. Phillip Brown followedby 17, while Sedrick Brown pumped in 16 points. Reginald Mageetossed in 12 points for head coach Joe Taylor.

The Chiefs (1-3) got 16 points from Quincy Lampton and 10 fromD’Bundee Smith.

Brookhaven 69, Wesson 38

The Lady Panthers (2-2) started out slowly, having a 15-5 leadafter one period. Ole Brook, coached by Billy Holmes, began to pickup the offense and defense in the second frame, as evident by their36-24 lead at the intermission break.

The Lady Cobras (0-3) were outscored 34-14 by Ole Brook in thesecond half.

“Brookhaven had too much size for us,” said Wesson head coachJemmye Anne Helms. “Our girls played hard tonight. I am proud oftheir effort.”

Wesson got a game-high 26 points and 2 steals from AlexisCrosby. Christy Watson grabbed 6 rebounds. Perry Furr had 2assists.

Ole Brook was led by 6-2 sophomore center Nikki Byrd with 16points and 12 rebounds. Jermecia Jones added 13 points. PortiaDickey has 11 points, 2 blocked shots and 4 steals. Swayze Blackgrabbed 11 boards. Angel Weston dished out 7 assists, while BlancheWilson tallied 6 assists.

“We played with intensity for 32 minutes tonight,” said CoachHolmes, following the game. “We had a better effort tonight, butthere is still room for improvement.”

Brookhaven 60, Wesson 54.

This game went back and forth for the entire 32-minutes, as eachteam’s biggest advantage was a mere 6 points. An 11-11 deadlockstarted the second quarter, with the visiting Cobras entertaining a28-26 halftime cushion.

The Panthers carried a 36-35 advantage into the final frame.

Wesson cut its deficit to 3 points, at 57-54, on a trey by MasonWarren with 31 seconds left in the game. That would be as close ashead coach Ron Keesler’s Cobras would get. Warren led all scorerswith 21 points.

“Charles (Rancifer) and Jerome (Avery) made the differencetonight for us,” said Panther head coach Ronald Hines. “I’m glad toget that first win.”

Rancifer and Avery, only 3 days removed from the Ole Brookfootball team, led the Panthers with 14 and 13 points respectively.Rancifer also had 5 assists, while Avery provided 3 assists and 5steals. Jarvis Blue grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds.

For the Cobras, Phil Fortenberry had 4 rebounds. Fortenberry andWarren each had 3 steals. Warren Hood dished out 5 assists.