CLINTON — Brookhaven Academy fans marked the Jan. 20th meetingof BA and Indianola Academy when the schedule for the 2006-07season came out in early October. The overwhelming question was,”Could Brookhaven’s boys compete with the top teams in Academy AAbasketball after graduating 4 of their starting 5?”

Indianola began the season as the favorite to win the AA crown,behind the talents of 6-foot-9 center John Harris.

After Saturday afternoon’s meeting between two of the top threeClass AA teams in the Mississippi College Classic at the A.E. WoodColiseum, Brookhaven showed it has to be considered the favorite tocapture the AA crown for a third consecutive year.

Brookhaven held on for a hard-fought, 55-54 win that wasn’tdecided until Cougars sophomore forward Josh Winborne nailed a freethrow with 10 seconds left in the game.

Brookhaven, the third-ranked team in AA basketball, improved to18-3 on the year. Indianola, the No. 2 ranked team in AA, droppedto 16-4.

Brookhaven appeared to have the game well under control afterthe first half, holding Harris to just 7 points and jumping out to36-27 lead. But Harris scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in thesecond half, as the Colonels fought back and took a slim 49-48 leadwith 3 minutes remaining in the game.

That’s when Corey Dickerson nailed a three from the corner onthe ensuing Brookhaven possession to give the Cougars the lead forgood.

Dickerson led Brookhaven with a game-high 24 points and 5rebounds. T-Boy Lynch added nine points and 12 assists.

“I thought we did a great job of finding a way to win.” said BAboys coach Dale Watts. “We had a good lead at the half, but we madesome mistakes and let them back in it, but we found a way to winagainst a good team.”

Brookhaven also had a hard time with Colonel forward CalebBradshaw, who helped Harris keep the Colonels close with 16points.

The girls game between Brookhaven and Indianolawas also a meeting of two of the top five teams in the AA ranks, asthe Lady Cougars stand No. 2 and the Lady Colonels are thefourth-ranked team.

Brookhaven topped the Lady Colonels 59-42 to improve to 22-3overall. Indianola fell to 16-8.

Sophomore forward Drew Holland Tigner and junior guard BetsyLynch each scored 20 points to lead Brookhaven to the win. KelliSnider added 13 points in support. Kacey Rutland pulled down 14rebounds.

“This is the best complete game we’ve had all year.” saidBrookhaven coach Barry Gray. “I was very proud of the team today.They gave a great effort.”

Ann Cobb led Indianola with 13 points.