The Ole Brook Lady Panthers had 5 players in double-figures andscored at will to author a 91-41 thrashing of the Wilkinson CountyLady Wildcats in the opening round of the 2006 BrookhavenInvitational Tournament in Sinclair Gym. Junior Dandy Dozen guardSwayze Black led the way, fostering a double-double with 19 points,10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Wilkinson County took advantage of poor free throw shooting andturnovers, to will a come-from-behind 57-54 win over the BrookhavenPanthers. Lawrence Cage led 4 Wildcats in double-figures with agame-high 18 points and 3 steals.

In other first round action, the McComb Lady Tigers squeaked bythe Tylertown Lady Chiefs 63-62. The eighth-ranked McComb Tigersblew away the Tylertown Chiefs 67-46.

Due to Northwest Rankin’s participation in the Class 5A footballplayoffs Friday night, tournament action has been moved ahead oneday. Thursday’s other first-round matchups will take placeWednesday, while Friday’s semifinals will take place on Thursday.Saturday’s matchups are unaffected.

The McComb girls and boys take on the South Pike/Hinds AHSwinners Thursday at 4 and 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

First round play concludes Wednesday with South Pike and HindsAHS tipping off at 4, with Northwest Rankin and West Lincolnstarting at 7.

Brookhaven 91, Wilkinson 61

The Lady Panthers (3-1) dominated from start-to-finish in the50-point win. Head Coach Freda Craft also saw some room forimprovement.

“We had too many turnovers tonight,” said Coach Craft.

“We need to be more mentally focused about what we aredoing.”

Craft’s ballclub committed 24 turnovers on the night. They shot51 percent from the field on 32 of 63 shooting. Free throw shootingimproved to 61 percent (25-41), from Saturday night’s dismal 36percent (12 of 33).

“We shot free throws better tonight,” Craft added.

Following Black with 13 points each were Jermecia Jones andKayla Harris. Whitley Shannon pumped in 12, followed by KatieMackabee with 11.

Black and Dandy Dozen twin Nikki Byrd controlled the boards witheach grabbing 10 rebounds. Jones and Harris had 4 steals each.Harris led in assists with 5, followed by Monte’ Wilson with 4 andBlack with 3.

“They were too tall and too fast,” said Lady Wildcat head coachEdwin White. “We played hard, and had a lot to overcome.”

Wilkinson Co. (1-3) was led by the Anthony sisters, Ebonee andTony, with 9 points each. Ashley Dennis who had 7 rebounds and 3blocked shots. Ebonee had 3 steals. The Lady Wildcats had 33turnovers and 26 percent shooting (15 of 61) from the field.

Wilkinson Co. 57, Brookhaven 54

The Wildcats (4-0) remained unbeaten by using a 19-9 advantageon the offensive boards. Wilkinson Co., coached by Arthur Clark,scored 23 points off the offensive glass.

“Wilkinson County has a good team,” said Ole Brook head coachRonald Hines.

Hines’ Panthers led 8-5 at the end of the first quarter.Brookhaven was outscored 27-20 in the second and trailed 32-28 atthe intermission. The second half was close, as neither team couldestablish a decisive advantage. Poor shot selection and turnoverswould hurt the Panthers down the stretch.

Fresh off the football field, Simmie Yarborough led Ole Brookwith 15 points. Bobo Rancifer followed with 14 points and 5assists. Donaldmetric Blue grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 2assists. Terrance Perkins had 3 steals and dished out 2assists.

The Panthers lost the battle of the boards 29-27. They committedonly 9 turnovers in the opening half, before finishing with 23. OleBrook made 8 of 18 opportunities from the charity stripe.

Clark’s Wildcats got support from Kenny Harden and Corey Anthonywith 12 points apiece. Mitchell Thompson had 10 points, 9 reboundsand 3 blocked shots. Gary James had 4 steals. Cage and Anthony eachdished out 4 assists.

McComb 63, Tylertown 62

The Lady Tigers (5-1) were led by April Johnson with 16 points.Carishian Patterson tossed 14 points. Portia Craft netted 12, whileAmy Anazia had 11 points

The Lady Chiefs (2-2) got 16 from Octavia Bearden.

McComb 67, Tylertown 46

The Tigers (6-1) got a team-high 20 points from Otis Smith.DeFreddrick White added 14, while Chris Anazia and Derrick Harriseach tallied 12 points.

Quincy Lampton paced the Chiefs (1-4) with a game-high 21points.