The Brookhaven High Lady Panthers kept up with their unbeaten ways on Tuesday night as they defeated visiting 6A Terry High School 48-29 in Sinclair Gymnasium. In the boys’ game, the Bulldogs would use a strong second half to hand the Panthers their first home defeat of the season with a 79-57 win.

Junior guard Ayanna McNairy led the Lady Panthers’ in scoring with 11 points. Junior forward Silentianna Collins added 10 points and senior forward Tamia Stallings scored 10 points as well.

Brookhaven (9-0) didn’t shoot the ball exceptionally well, but their press was more than Terry (9-3) could handle. If a team doesn’t have a true point guard, they don’t have a chance against the BHS pressure, and at times Terry was turning the ball over more than they were shooting it.

Collins says BHS head coach Preston Wilson stresses to his team they must keep the game at a fast pace.

“Coach wants us to keep our foot on the gas,” said Collins. “Regardless of the score he wants us to keep running and trying to force turnovers.”

Brookhaven jumped up 16-6 in the first quarter and led 32-13 at halftime. Terry would have a couple of runs in the game, but would never be able to close the gap to fewer than 12 points in the second half.

Ashanti Louis added eight points for BHS and Cynphoni Thompson scored five. Yacoriuna Braxton and Sharquita Cook scored two points apiece for the Lady Panthers.

In the boys’ game, the Panthers (7-2) and the Bulldogs (6-6) played at a fast pace in a contest that got sloppy at times. Brookhaven led 16-15 at the end of the first quarter when a Terry run cut down what had been a larger BHS lead. Terry led 29-27 at halftime and again had strong play over the final minutes of the period to seize momentum.

The third quarter would be the undoing of BHS, as the Bulldogs outscored them 24-13 in the frame. Senior forward Lafollete Bogan scored 20 points to lead the Panthers, but did so by taking 20 shots, as the Terry defense made a concerted effort to harass him in the second half.

Sophomore guard La’Darius Thrasher scored 10 points for Brookhaven. Junior wing Jermario Hersey added eight points, John Hilbert scored six points, Isaiah Wall added five points and Cedarius Brothern rounded out the Panther scoring with two points.

Terry has played a tough schedule, with losses to Clinton, Forest Hill and Raymond, and quality wins against Vicksburg, Northwest Rankin and Crystal Springs. The Bulldogs start two freshmen in long-limbed, 6-foot point guard Omarion Walker and 6-foot-5 center Devin Ree.

Coached by former Prentiss head coach Calvin Morgan, Terry also has a high-flying Jim Hill transfer in Anthony Ratliff. Ratliff brought the BHS crowd to its feet with several powerful dunks Tuesday night.

BHS travels to Woodville on Friday night for a matchup with the Wilkinson County Wildcats. The Wildcats are winless and the Lady Wildcats have a single victory.

On Saturday, the Lady Panthers will play in Pearl against Meridian. The game is part of the Pearl Breast Cancer Benefit that draws some of the best teams in the state. 6A Meridian (5-2) will be one of the better opponents faced by BHS thus far this season.

Story by Cliff Furr