The Brookhaven Panthers and the Natchez Lady Bulldogs captured big wins in Region 6-5A basketball action Friday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.

In the girls’ game, the Natchez Lady Bulldogs (12-1, 2-0) overwhelmed the Brookhaven Lady Panthers to gain a 63-37 win.

In the boys’ contest, the Panthers began their district run with a victory as they thumped the Natchez Bulldogs 72-52.

Brookhaven resumes action Tuesday night as they welcome the Jefferson County Tigers to town for three games. Junior varsity action is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. followed by a pair of varsity games.

Natchez 63, Brookhaven 37 

The Lady Bulldogs came out and quickly overpowered the young Lady Panthers in the opening quarter as they stormed 28-6 lead.

In the second quarter, Brookhaven battled back and outscored Natchez 11-9 but trailed at halftime 37-17.

In the second half of action, the Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Panthers fought in a close contest, but Natchez managed to win the scoring battle by outscoring Brookhaven 26-20 in the final two frames of action.

Yasmine Hill was the offensive leader for the winless Lady Panthers (0-16, 0-1) with 10 points, Kynitria Hill contributed seven points.

The Lady Bulldogs had four players to score in double figures as Zyaire Ewing led the charge with 16 points. Skylar Morgan chipped in with 14 points. Kirdis Clark and Rashonae Rice netted 10 points apiece.

Brookhaven 72, Natchez 52 

The Panthers and Natchez renewed their heated rivalry in basketball action as both teams fought back-and-forth in a close contest in the opening quarter of action. Brookhaven managed to gain the upper hand on Natchez to claim a 13-9 lead.

In the second quarter, Brookhaven’s high octane offense turned up the heat on the Bulldogs defensively to force turnovers and increase their lead with a 23-13 run to take a 36-22 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Brookhaven continued their aggressiveness on defense to create more Natchez’s turnover and extend their lead with a 19-10 run to carry a 55-32 margin into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame of action, the Bulldogs (7-4, 1-1) provided a 20-17 run against the Panthers but could not take over Brookhaven’s large lead.

The Panthers (14-2, 1-0) had a balance offensive attack as several players received plenty of playing time. Darrion Wilson led the offensive onslaught with a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Tavis Moore contributed 12 points and was the leader on the boards with nine rebounds. Lazorian McNulty and Alex Benson added seven points each.

The Natchez Bulldogs also had balanced scoring spread from several players. Joel Bacon and Micheal Morris were the top scorers for the Bulldogs with eight points apiece. Tydarrius Terrell, Ty’Ran Newman and Dominique Mazique provided help with seven points each.