Lawrence County senior Laicie Bridges launched a 3-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer for the Cougars Friday in Sinclair Gymnasium against Brookhaven High. The shot banked into the hoop off the backboard square, giving Lawrence County a 50-49 win in thrilling fashion.

Brookhaven High used a late offensive spurt to break open the boy’s matchup, winning 65-50 over the visiting Cougars from Monticello.

Bridges, the daughter of LC head boy’s coach Pat Bridges, finished with 16 points to lead the Cougars in the win.

LC coach Candice McDuffey also got 12 points from junior Kanecia Jefferson.

Lawrence County led 22-21 at halftime. The meeting was the second of the season between the teams, as the Cougars won 58-31 in a Thanksgiving week matchup in Monticello.

It’s the first season sweep for Lawrence County over Brookhaven High in girls’ basketball since the 2015-2016 campaign.

Lawrence County moved to 6-3 with the win.

It was a tough loss, the fourth straight, for Brookhaven High and coach Preston Wilson who are 4-5 overall and will host Crystal Springs on Tuesday.

On Friday, the Panthers started sophomore Aubrey Dampier, senior SaNya Graham, senior Tiniah McDaniel, junior Kema Roberts, and sophomore Taylin Stallings.

Roberts scored 13 points while senior guard Zaniya Nunnery came off the bench to lead the way with 15 points. Dampier scored seven points, Graham added nine points while Maleah Smith and Jamaria Cook scored two points each. Sh’Nya Hill rounded out the BHS scoring with one point.

Lawrence County had also won the boys’ matchup when the team’s first played, taking a 47-44 victory in Monticello.

The win over Lawrence County on Friday was the first of the weekend for BHS boy’s coach Charlton Grey and his program as the Panthers defeated McComb High 54-38 on Saturday in an event played at Southwest Mississippi CC.

The Panthers are 7-2 overall with losses to LC and Pearl this season. This past week saw the return of the football players to the BHS basketball roster.

That gave Grey more depth to work with, as he usually substitutes players liberally while seeking to have his team play at a fast tempo.

Grey has an experienced starting rotation, made up of players that don’t split time with football, which has helped the Panthers get off to a hot start this season.

Senior forward Kordell “Slim” Collins leads the Panthers inside, standing 6-foot-4 and pairing well with 6-foot-3 junior forward Nicholas Gamble. Senior point guard Jay Ross is another veteran and on the wings BHS starts junior Jamarion Cooper and junior Jacaiden Cook.

BHS led 29-20 at halftime, but Lawrence County kept the game to within two possessions for much of the third and fourth quarter.

With four minutes left, the BHS defense generated a rash of turnovers, which led to some easy buckets and ballooned the lead out to a more comfortable margin.

Cooper was especially big in the fourth quarter for Brookhaven High, scoring 12 points in the final eight minutes of action. He led the Panther offense with 21 points and is averaging a team best 14.9 points per game this season.

Gamble was also in double figures with 10 points and Ross scored 12 points, with all of them coming in the opening half. Collins chipped in 13 points for Ole Brook.

Lawrence County and head coach Pat Bridges bounced back on Saturday to get a 55-44 win over Parklane Academy in Summit, a victory that moved the Cougars to 7-4 on the season.

Senior guard Kendall Feazell scored 13 to lead Lawrence County on Friday. LC also got 10 points from senior guard Mario Womack Jr.

Lawrence County will play at McComb High on Friday, Dec. 13. Brookhaven High will play at Mendenhall on Thursday, Dec. 12.