Scoring runs and pressure defense were the keys to victory forBrookhaven’s basketball teams Monday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.Brookhaven swept the home-and-away series from the Jefferson DavisCounty visitors. The Lady Panthers opened their game with a 15-0run in the first period, and cruised to a 71-36 win over thePrentiss Lady Bulldogs.

Despite a game-high 32 points from center Al Jefferson, thePrentiss Bulldogs fell to the Brookhaven Panthers 68-53 in thevarsity boys game.

Brookhaven smashed Prentiss 48-21 in the JV boys game.

Brookhaven travels up I-55 to Madison County to take on MadisonCentral’s Lady Jaguars and Jaguars Thursday. A JV boys game startsthe tripleheader at 5 p.m. The varsity girls tip off at 6, followedby the varsity boys around 7:30.

The Lady Panthers (3-1) led 15-0 at the end ofthe first quarter, using a balanced scoring effort. Seniors AnnaAutman, Kristian McCray, Latoria Kerr and Chiquita Rancifer, alongwith junior Ashley Leggett and sophomore Ashley Sykes contributedto the scoring column.

Prentiss, coached by Wanda Ard, got its first points of the game2 seconds into the second quarter on a basket by Savannah Funchess.The Lady Bulldogs held an 11-1 advantage on the offensive boards,but were unable to convert those rebounds into points. Ard’sballclub made only 4-of-27 field goal attempts in the first halfand trailed 36-10 at halftime.

Lady Panther head coach Billy Holmes and assistant Terri Hallsaw their ballclub end the first half with a 15-2 spurt. Ranciferscored 10 consecutive points at the end of the run, on a pair oftreys and a pair of layups.

“We played a lot better tonight than we did Saturday night,especially on defense,” said Holmes, referring to his team’s 50-44loss to Madison Central in the Ole Brook Classic.

Brookhaven authored a 14-3 run, beginning midway through thethird period. Autman, a 6-foot forward, pumped in 8 of hergame-high 14 points during the run. Brookhaven led 54-16 enteringthe final frame.

Autman added 7 rebounds and 3 steals. McCray had 10 points and10 rebounds. Kerr, Rancifer and Portia Dickey dished out 3 assistsapiece. Blanche Wilson had 4 steals and 5 assists.

Antina Williams led Prentiss with 6 points on a pair of 3-pointbaskets.

“Chiquita (Rancifer) played well on both ends,” addedHolmes.

Brookhaven outrebounded Prentiss 41-25. The Lady Pantherscommitted 16 turnovers while forcing the Lady Bulldogs into 26miscues.

The Panthers (3-1) found themselves trailingearly in the first 8 minutes of action. Prentiss, coached by LonnieMcLemore, led 10-2 midway through the first period. Jefferson, a6-foot-9 senior center, tossed in 8 points early on 3 thunderousdunks and a short jumper.

Brookhaven would close the gap, trailing 15-14 heading into thesecond quarter. There were 2 ties in the period, before thePanthers took the lead for good at 23-21 on a basket by senior postplayer Jasper Hall. Hall and his teammates closed out the half with10-3 run to lead 33-29 at the intermission.

The Bulldogs got no closer than 8 points, 37-29, on a basket byJefferson. Prentiss was down 52-38 at the start of the fourthperiod.

The Panthers began to pick the Prentiss defense apart with manybackdoor passes, exhibiting great patience on the offensive end ofthe floor. The Brookhaven defense contributed to the offensiveflow, by converting many steals into easy baskets.

“We ran our offense well tonight,” said Brookhaven head coachRonald Hines. “Our game plan was to get Big Al out of the paint.That opened up the paint.”

Panther guard Joaquin Smith led Brookhaven with 21 points,mostly on the backdoor passes several of his teammates. Hall added14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Rodney Daniels pumped in 10points and dished out 5 assists.

Brookhaven accounted for 16 steals, 24 assists and only 11turnovers. Jermaine Culver had 7 assists. Ganerio Richardson had 5assists and 4 steals.

“Our shot selection was real good,” added Hines.

Jefferson, the only Bulldog in double figures, pulled down 8rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

In the JV boys game, Micah Tanner ledBrookhaven with 14 points. Prentiss got 7 points from RodneyYoung.