JACKSON – Despite the chilling temperatures outside in theCapital City Tuesday night, Forest Hill was able to warm theShellie M. Bailey Coliseum with victories; taking a pair of Region5-5A contests from Brookhaven.

The Lady Patriots torched the nets at a 52-percent clip for a 63-47win over the Lady Panthers who in turn shot a dismal 30 percentfrom the floor.

In the varsity boys game, the Patriots scored 23 points off of 33Panther turnovers in a 64-62 overtime victory.

Brookhaven travels to Natchez Friday night for three games to closeout the regular season. A JV game tips off at 5 p.m., followed bythe varsity girls and boys at 6 and 7:30.

The Region 5-5A tournament begins next Tuesday, at WestJones.

Forest Hill 63, Brookhaven 47

The Lady Patriots (17-9, 5-1) used a key 20-11 third quarterstretch to take a 46-32 lead into the fourth. Forest Hill, coachedby Tangela Banks, forced 11 of Brookhaven’s 16 turnovers in thesecond half.

The Lady Panthers (5-19, 0-6) kept this game close in the firsthalf, leading twice in the first quarter at 4-2 and 6-5; on basketsby Tiakara Kelly and Archea Brothern. A Taneisha Hobson basket gaveForest Hill the lead for good at 7-6 and they never looked back,taking an 18-10 lead into the second quarter and 26-21 at thehalftime intermission.

“We did not shoot the ball well tonight,” said Lady Panther headcoach Freda Craft, following the game. “We had too many carelessturnovers. We were not mentally focused.”

Hobson led all scorers with 22 points and 2 blocked shots. LatoyaCollins had 14 points and 5 assists. Krystal Barker had 10 points,5 rebounds and 3 assists. Anissa Jackson dished out 5 assists. TheLady Patriots committed 22 turnovers, and held 29-28 reboundingedge.

Senior guard Precious Patterson paced the Lady Panthers with 16points. Kelly tossed in 11 points, followed by Christen Benson with10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 assists. Diamond Herring had7 rebounds.

Forest Hill 64, Brookhaven 62

The Panthers (20-5, 4-2) led early and often throughout the firsthalf; taking a 16-12 lead at the end of the first stanza.Brookhaven head coach Preston Wilson saw his team enjoy its largestadvantage of the game at 29-20 with 2:23 left in the second, on anoffensive putback by 6-foot-8 senior center Fred Fairman.

Ole Brook led 29-26 at the halftime break.

Forest Hill took their first lead of the game at 35-33 on a basketby Chris Bilbo and realized a 46-all deadlock entering the finalframe. The Patriots had a 4-point lead early in the fourth, butBrookhaven’s defense forced numerous turnovers to get back in thegame. Bilbo’s free throw at the 2:33 mark of the fourth gave histeammates a 57-54 cushion.

A Keith Johnson free throws and Fairman basket tied the game at57-57, as neither team could get a shot to fall in the final 66seconds of regulation.

In the extra session, Forest Hill scored first off a Pantherturnover and subsequent basket by Quintarious Porter to lead59-57.

Brookhaven tied the game at 62-all with 22 ticks left in overtimeon a pair of Fairman free throws. After a Patriot turnover in theirfront with 12 seconds left, Wilson signaled for a timeout.

Inbounding the ball in the backcourt, Ole Brook was setting up fora potential game winner.

With less than 5 seconds left, Forest Hill trapped Brookhaven atmid-court. Porter got the steal and layup as time expired; sendingthe Patriot bench and faithful into a frenzy.

“I told our kids that if we could force them (Brookhaven) intocommitting turnovers, we could win the game,” said Patriot headcoach Milton Ray. “Brookhaven has a good team.”

Porter led Forest Hill with 18 points and 6 rebounds. QuentariusMoore had 14 points, while Bilbo pumped in 13 points and 9 steals.William Brown added 10 points for Patriot head coach MiltonRay.

Fairman led all scorers with a game-high 26 points and 9 rebounds.Senior forward Daniel Washington had 16 points and 8 rebounds.Keith Johnson dished out 5 assists, while Chris Rancifer had 4assists. Ross Hill had 3 steals.

“We had too many careless turnovers,” Brookhaven head coach PrestonWilson commented. “We did not take care of the basketball.”