Brookhaven High and visiting Natchez High moved up their pair of Region 3-5A games that had been originally scheduled for Friday to Thursday night in Sinclair Gymnasium. Like many area schools, the teams were hoping to avoid any potential foul weather in the forecast.

In the opening girls’ game, Natchez stayed perfect in division play with a 49-37 win. The boys’ matchup was a win for the Panthers, as Brookhaven High led nearly from wire-to-wire in a 50-40 victory.

The win for the BHS boys’ squad was the second-straight region victory of the week for the Panthers after they beat North Pike 50-40 on Tuesday in Summit.

BHS kicked off region play with a home loss to South Jones before the Christmas pause and then came back from the break to lose a close, overtime contest at division foe Provine 74-69.

It was the first region loss for the Bulldogs (13-6, 3-1), who had previously beaten Florence, Provine and North Pike in division matchups. South Jones (19-2, 4-0) currently sits atop the region standings, but the Braves have yet to play Natchez this season.

Brookhaven High (11-6, 2-2) got a team high 18 points from senior forward Kordell “Slim” Collins. The 6-foot-4 Collins went 2-of-3 from the 3-point line and also pulled down a team best 15 rebounds as Natchez did not have an answer inside for him or 6-foot-3 junior forward Nicholas Gamble.

Gamble added 16 points and 11 rebounds as the taller Panthers controlled the boards.

The other area that Brookhaven High controlled in the first half was standout Natchez junior guard Daylan Haywood.

The son of Natchez head coach David Haywood, Daylan Haywood came into the game averaging 22.9 points per game.

Brookhaven High head coach Charlton Grey had 6-foot-1 freshman guard Johnnie Crump shadowing Haywood throughout the first half as the Panthers face guarded the 5-foot-1 0 wing and held him to eight points in the opening two quarters

Brookhaven High led 34-22 at the halftime break after sophomore guard Tristion Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to end the second quarter.

The lead ballooned to 19 in the third quarter when Brookhaven senior point guard Jay Ross scored off an inbounds play to put the Panthers ahead 49-30, but Natchez didn’t go away and the Bulldogs caused some turnovers and got five-straight points from Haywood in a run that made the scored 49-39 after the opening play of the fourth quarter.

The Brookhaven lead shrank down to 55-50 in the fourth quarter, but Crump got a three-point play after a hoop and harm and Thomas cashed in a layup that pushed the advantage back out to 10 points for the Panthers.

Haywood scored a game high 22 points to reach his season average in leading Natchez.

Ross, a 5-foot-9 senior point guard who started on Thursday along with Collins, Gamble, Crump, and junior guard Jamarion Cooper was the third Panther to post a double-double in the win, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds for BHS.

Thomas came off the bench to score seven points and Crump added seven points as well. Cooper added four points and junior guard Jacaiden Cook scored two points off the bench. Cooper led the way with 16 points on Tuesday in the win at North Pike.

“The guys followed the game plan and executed tonight,” said Grey. “I’m very proud of them.”

The Panthers have now won four straight over Natchez going back to last season. BHS will return the game to NHS on Jan. 28.

Next week BHS travels to South Jones on Tuesday to see if they can deal the Braves a first region loss of the 2024-2025 season. BHS is back home on Jan. 17, hosting Florence.

The Brookhaven High girls and head coach Preston Wilson saw Natchez build a 32-17 halftime lead in their opening matchup.

Natchez was led by the duo of 5-foot-10 senior guard Roniya Ellis and 6-foot-2 senior wing Caleah Kennedy.

Ellis is the daughter of first year Natchez head coach Ronald Ellis. Ellis was promoted from assistant to head coach to replace longtime NHS head coach Alphaka Moore after she took the head job at Oak Grove High. Ellis had previously been a head coach at Delta Charter in Ferriday, Louisiana.

Roniya Ellis scored 15 points and Kennedy chipped in 14 points. NHS also got eight points from senior Faith Gutter and eight points and 11 rebounds from freshman Payge Jackson.

Natchez is now 15-5 and 4-0 in Region 3-5A.

Brookhaven High moves to 9-9 overall and 2-2 in division play with the loss.

Junior forward Kema Roberts and senior guard Zaniya Graham led the Panthers with 14 points each. That pair started on Thursday along with senior Sanya Graham, senior Tiniah McDaniel, and senior Maleah Smith.

The Panthers recently got a boost when senior Bailee Gamble returned from injury.

Gamble scored one point while freshman forward Sh’Nya Hill came off the bench to add five points. Sanya Graham scored three points to round out the scoring for the Panthers.

Turnovers against the Natchez pressure and length was a key to the game and the Panthers didn’t do themselves any favors by missing 11 free throws.

Both of the Brookhaven High squads will take part in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. event put on by Lanier High next week.

Wilson and the Brookhaven High girls’ team will play at Lanier on Saturday, Jan. 18 against 7A Northwest Rankin (15-4) at 5 p.m. On Monday, Jan. 20, the BHS boys will play at 11 a.m. against fellow 5A school Holmes County Central (12-6) at Lanier.