The Brookhaven Panthers and the South Pike Eagles provided an offensive thriller in boys’ action as the Panthers clipped the Eagles 81-72 Tuesday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.

In the girls’ game, the South Pike Lady Eagles used their aggressive full-court pressure to defeat the Lady Panthers 60-55.

Brookhaven begin Region 6-5A action Friday as they prepare to invade Natchez to take on the Natchez Bulldogs. The girls tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys.

South Pike 60, Brookhaven 55 

The Lady Panthers and Lady Eagles battled in a tough defensive contest in the first half as South Pike secured a 10-9 in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Brookhaven managed to over come their sluggishness to outscored the Lady Eagles 14-10 to take a 23-20 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Lady Eagles came out strong and applied full-court pressure to overwhelm the Lady Panthers early with a 21-7 blast in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Brookhaven charged back by applying their aggressive pressure on South Pike as outscored the Lady Eagles 25-19, but fell to overcome the South Pike’s lead at the end.

Fredericka Fairman had a huge night as she lead the Lady Panthers (9-7) with a game-high double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jessica Wilson contributed 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Diamond Herring chipped in with 10 points.

“I believe we had two different teams show up to play,” said BHS coach Freda Craft. “In the first half, the girls played hard and showed a lot of discipline. In the second half, we came out flat and struggled to get the ball down the court. Our shooting was terrible as well. We need to regroup and start preparing for our first region test this Friday.”

The Lady Eagles (13-4) had three players to score in double figures as My’Neka Frazier paced South Pike with 17 points. Amber Harper provided 14 points and Nakaulis Washington had 13 points.

Brookhaven 81, South Pike 72 

The Panthers came out in the first quarter and hammered the South Pike Eagles early to take a 24-11 lead.

In the second quarter, the Eagles bounced back and fought their way back into the contest as they trimmed into Brookhaven’s lead trialing 39-32 at the half.

In the second half, both teams continued their aggressive offensive scoring as the Panthers managed to hold off the Eagles outscoring South Pike 42-40 to claim the win.

Shaquan Richardson was the top scorer for Ole Brook (13-4) with 18 points. Tavis Moore contributed 17 points and lead on the boards with nine rebounds. Khalil Newton chipped in with 13 points

“We got off to a great start in the first quarter, but failed to maintain that tempo and allowed South Pike to battle back,” said BHS coach Preston Wilson. “Overall, I was pleased to get the win, but we need to keep improving and get ready for our first region test.”

Jamorris Shaw pumped in a game-high 22 points to lead the Eagles (11-5). Desmon Cook and Stephen Coleman provided 11 points apiece.