NATCHEZ – The Brookhaven Panthers won a Saturday afternoonthriller, escaping Natchez 56-55 as senior center Fred Fairman sankthe winning basket with one-tenth of a second left on the clock.Fairman ran the sideline on the inbounds play and made the winningshot on a short jumper.

In the varsity girls game, Natchez humbled the Lady Panthers 63-28as Jacqueria Williams scored 15 points.

Brookhaven resumes play Tuesday in the Division 6-5A Tournament atWest Jones. The Panthers play Forest Hill. Finals are Friday night.Only the top two teams advance to the South Mississippiplayoffs.

The Panthers (21-5) got strong guard play from Leo Garrett andKeith Johnson as t hey scored d17 and 15 points respectively.Johnson also grabbed 8 rebounds and Fairman 7. Dennis Jordan made 5assists. Daniel Washington blocked 4 shots.

“We started slow but we overcame our turnovers and played a lotbetter in the second half,” said BHS coach Preston Wilson. His teamwas down 24-17 at halftime, troubled by a 4-point, firstquarter.

The teams were tied 38-38 entering the fourth quarter.

Natchez got a game-high 27 points from Trevon Chatman on SeniorRecognition Day.

The Lady Panthers (5-20) only managed eight rebounds in the gameand struggled with a school-record 57 turnovers. “All we did wasthrow it away,” said BHS girls coach Freda Craft.

Sophomore Christen Benson led BHS with 12 points. They LadyPanthers trailed 27-9 at halftime.