The Brookhaven Panthers and the West Lincoln Lady Bears were victorious Friday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Bears rallied back to defeat the home standing Lady Panthers 35-30 in overtime.

In the boys’ game, the Panthers came out and dominated the Bears early to claim a 73-27 victory.

Brookhaven and West Lincoln will be off this week to enjoy the holiday break before returning to action the following week.

Brookhaven resumes action Tuesday, Dec. 30 as they participate in McComb’s Holiday Tournament. The Panthers and Lady Panthers will battle the McComb Tigers in the late night games. The girls tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the boys.

West Lincoln will also be in action that day as they travel to take part in Dexter’s Holiday Tournament. The Lady Bears and the Bears will face the Salem Wildcats in an early meeting starting with the girls’ game at 12 p.m., followed by the boys.

West Lincoln 35, Brookhaven 30 

The Lady Panthers and the Lady Bears provided an exciting defensive contest for their basketball fans as both teams fought neck-to-neck from start to finish.

In the opening quarter, the Lady Panthers (0-12) relied on their full court pressure to overwhelm the Lady Bears early as Brookhaven claimed a 10-6 lead.

In the second frame, the Lady Bears battled back to outscore the Lady Panthers 8-7, but Brookhaven managed to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, West Lincoln continued to keep the game close as they trimmed down Ole Brook’s lead with a 6-5 run. The Lady Panthers held on with a 22-20 lead.

In the final frame of regulation, West Lincoln applied full-court pressure on Brookhaven to keep the Lady Panthers off balance and managed to tied the contest at 27-all before the final buzzer sounded.

In overtime, the Lady Bears (3-9) came out hot and quickly took charge of the contest with a 8-3 run to secure the victory.

“We were very fortunate to get the win,” West Lincoln Coach Lane Young said. “The girls played hard and kept fighting until the very end.”

Hanna Moak powered the Lady Bears with a team-high double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Layton Sills contributed eight points and had six rebounds. Demeshia Deer provided six points and collected six rebounds. Alli Mullins chipped in with five points and five rebounds. Carly Holden scored two points.

Kynitria Hill directed the Lady Panthers with a game-high double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Chantel Quarles scored four points. Yasmine Hill and Shoniece Smith added three points each. Cheyenne Motley netted two points. Asia Byrd and Jada Henderson had one point each.

Brookhaven 73, West Lincoln 27 

The Panthers came out and quickly dominated West Lincoln from the start to gain a 24-6 advantage in the opening quarter. They continued to overwhelm the Bears in the second quarter to take a 42-12 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the clock continued to roll as West Lincoln and Brookhaven played their younger players. Ole Brook won the second half 25-15 to claim the win.

“We played really well offensively and defensively in the first half,” BHS coach Preston Wilson said. “Overall, it was great to give everyone playing time.”

The Panthers provided a balance scoring attack as Tavis Moore led the pace with 12 points. Randy Wilson contributed nine points and helped on the boards with four rebounds. Demarius Brooks netted eight points.

Ronnie Edwards was the top scorer for the Bears with 10 points. Keshaun London chipped in with nine points. Lofton Sill led on the boards with six rebounds.

“Brookhaven took it to us and whipped us from the start,” Young said. “Our guys need to take more pride in being a basketball player at West Lincoln.”