Ole Brook sweeps Wingfield on Sr. Night

Published 7:00 pm Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Brookhaven Lady Panthers and Pantherscaptured huge Region 5-5A victories Friday on Senior Night inSinclair Gymnasium.

    In the girls’ game, the Lady Panthers (14-10, 3-2) avenged anovertime loss at Wingfield in the last meeting and thumped the LadyFalcons 65-47.

    In boys’ action, the Panthers (17-7, 2-3) managed to stay in thehunt for the No. 2 seed in region play as they defeated the Falcons75-73 in an overtime thriller.

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    Brookhaven honored their basketball seniors in a special ceremonyin between the girls and boys games. The senior girls are TiakaraKelly, Shareeka Hill, Ariel Owens and Dana Herring. The seniorPanthers are Chris Rancifer, Ross Hill, Glenn Buie, Orlando Barnes,Dennis Jordan, Jameal Smith and Steven Hudson. Senior managers areDa’Meshia White and Chrishonica Montgomery.

    Also receiving recognition were the senior cheerleaders and ROTCmembers.

    The Panthers and Lady Panthers resume action Tuesday as they travelto Natchez to battle a Region 6A foe, the Natchez Bulldogs. Thegirls tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys.

Brookhaven 65, Wingfield 47

    The Lady Panthers came out a little flat in the first quarter, butexploded in the second quarter with a 29-14 run to take 33-25 leadinto halftime.

    In the second half, the Lady Falcons and Lady Panthers continued tobattle back and forth as Brookhaven held a slim 43-39 lead afterthree quarters of action. In the fourth quarter, Brookhavencapitalized on the foul-plagued Lady Falcons with another huge 22-8run to secure the win.

    Senior guard Tiakara Kelly poured in 22 points to lead the LadyPanthers. Shareeka Hill contributed 17 points and gathered 5rebounds. Ariel Owens provided a double-double with 11 points and12 rebounds.

    “I am extremely proud of the way my seniors stepped up and played,”said Brookhaven coach Freda Craft. “Our defensive pressure was thedeciding factor of the game. This was a big win for us and for theseniors.”

    The Lady Falcons (5-16, 1-5) were led in scoring by sophomore guardMercedes Morgan with 12 points. Kynesha Alexander chipped in 10points.

    “Early foul trouble and poor rotation on defense hurt us,” saidWingfield coach Anita Johnson. “We did not execute our game plan onoffense and it carried over to our defensive schemes. Hopefully, wecan bounce back and get ready for the tournament run.”

Brook 75, Wingfield 73, OT

    The Panthers and Falcons performed a classic 5A bout for thebasketball fans. Both teams battled hard and long. No lead wassafe. Brookhaven and Wingfield headed into halftime tied at 31-alland finished regulation tied at 66-all.

    In overtime, the bout continued to thrill the fans as the gameremained close. The Panthers managed to hold on to a 4-point leadas senior forward Glenn Buie hit two big free throws to put thegame out of reach with 5 seconds left.

    Sophomore forward Fred Trevillion paced Brookhaven with a team-high23 points while collecting 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. RossHill contributed 14 points and Buie added 13 points.

    “This was a huge win for us,” said Brookhaven coach Preston Wilson.”The guys hustled and played hard. They stepped up and hit some keyshots to force overtime and continued it in overtime to get thewin. I am really proud of them. Overall, our team effort was good,but we missed too many free throws that could have made it easierfor us.”

    Wingfield (12-17, 2-4) had three players to reach double figures.Antwon Randle pumped in a game-high 27 points. Aubrey Humphrey andJoshua Reed  contributed 11points apiece.

    “We missed too many easy shots and free throws that hurt us,” saidWingfield coach Herman Sanders. “Brookhaven did a great jobstepping up at crunch time to get the win. I believe that thisdistrict tournament will be very interesting to watch because eachteam is evenly matched.”

    BHS hosts the Region 5-5A tournament starting Feb. 7.