FLORENCE — The No. 1-seeded Brookhaven Lady Panthers went withtheir bread-and-butter game Thursday in the semifinals of theDivision 6-4A Tournament. Their Dandy Dozen duo of juniors NikkiByrd and Swayze Black combined for 29 points and 17 rebounds, asthe Lady Panthers jetted to a 53-27 win over the No. 4-seedMendenhall Lady Tigers.

Brookhaven is the defending tournament champion.

In other semifinal action, the No. 4-seed Lawrence CountyCougars fell to top-seed Port Gibson 53-47. The No. 3-seed McCombLady Tigers upset No. 2 Port Gibson 71-68. The Mendenhall boys,seeded third, proceeded to upset second-seed McComb 74-68.

Today’s consolation finals have the Mendenhall girls and PortGibson at 4 p.m., followed by Lawrence County and the McComb boysat 5:30. The championships finals get under way around 7 with theMcComb/Brookhaven girls, followed by the Port Gibson/Mendenhallboys.

All 8 teams advances to the opening round of the South State 4Aplayoffs. Girls action begins Monday. The boys start onTuesday.

Brookhaven 53, Mendenhall 27

The Lady Panthers (26-5) were back on the hardwood after a 6-daylayoff and an opening round bye in the tournament. They did notshow any ill effects, as they led from start-to-finish. Even thoughthey were outrebounded by Mendenhall, Brookhaven was able to scoremore points off their offensive rebounds.

Byrd and Black were relentless in the paint throughout thenight. Black led all scorers with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blockedshots and 5 steals. Byrd tossed in 11 points, grabbed 7 reboundsand dished out 2 assists.

Brookhaven head coach Freda Craft used her entire bench duringthe game. Everyone that played contributed to the win.

The Lady Tigers (17-10), coached by Marilyn Coleman, were led byLaurelle Williams with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals.

Others lending support for Ole Brook were Jermecia Jones with 5assists. Monte’ Wilson handed out 3 assists and Whitley Shannon had2. Kayla Harris had 4 steals, followed by Shannon with 3 and Wilsonwith 2.

The Lady Panthers had 22 turnovers, while the Lady Tigers had29. Mendenhall held a slim 35-33 edge in rebounding.

Port Gibson 53, Lawrence Co. 47

The Cougars (16-11) trailed 12-6 after one period, 20-12 at thehalftime intermission and 30-29 entering the final frame. LawrenceCounty did not shoot the ball well, and turnovers at crucial timesin the second half kept them from getting over the hump.

LCHS Head Coach Preston Wilson saw 3 Cougars in double-figures,led by senior forward Albert Brown with 13 points and 9 rebounds.Oliver Peyton pumped in 12 points and Dominique West had 11.

Port Gibson (18-13) got a game-high 26 points from KadeemFleming.

McComb 71, Port Gibson 68

The Lady Tigers (22-8) got game-high honors from junior guardPortia Craft with 25 points and 4 steals. Senior forward CarishianPatterson added 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Junior pointguard Alisha Rayborn tossed in 10 points and grabbed 11 reboundsfor head coach Angela Johnson.

The Lady Wave (18-13) was led by Nakia Dotson with 17 points.Lillie Porter followed with 16 points and Regena Grigsby added 13.Port Gibson is under the direction of head coach HaroldLiggins.

Mendenhall 74, McComb 68

The McComb Tigers (26-5) were without the services of head coachHilton Harrell, whose mother had passed away earlier in the day.Assistant Mike Jeansen took the reins for Harrell.

McComb got a game-high 29 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists fromsenior forward Roteddrick Cotton. Defreddrick White had 16 pointsand 4 assists. Akeem Williams had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3assists.

The Mendenhall Tigers (23-6) were led by Marcus Jenkins with 22points (6 treys). Chris Jones added 17 points and Jerry Sandiferpumped in 12 points for head coach Jeff Walker.