The Brookhaven Panthers and Lady Panthers captured two huge Region 6-5A victories over the Wingfield Falcons Friday night in basketball action at Sinclair Gymnasium.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Panthers overcame a sluggish start to knock off the Lady Falcons 55-51.

In boys’ action, the Panthers survived a tough, physical battle to remain unbeaten by defeating the Falcons 52-42.

Brookhaven resumes action Tuesday as they prepare to visit Clinton to take on the Arrows for three games in an non-divisional contest. A junior varsity game is scheduled to start the action at 5 p.m. The varsity girls will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys.

Brookhaven 55, Wingfield 51 

The Lady Panthers and Lady Falcons fought hard in the opening quarter as both teams battled neck-to-neck with Wingfield grabbing a slim 9-6 lead to end the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Brookhaven managed to overcome their sluggish start to outscore the Lady Falcons 18-9 to take a 24-18 lead into halftime.

After halftime, the Lady Panthers (13-9, 2-1) came out aggressively on offense as they managed to overwhelm Winfield to increase their lead to 39-29 after three quarters of action.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Falcons came to life and stormed back into the contest by outscoring Brookhaven 22-16, but fell short of an upset bid as the Lady Panthers made crucial free throws in the closing second to secure the victory.

Junior forward Jessica Wilson had a career-high performance for the Lady Panthers as she torched the nets for 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Fredericka Fairman provided assistance with nine points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and three blocked shots. Chantel Quarles helped on the boards with eight rebounds and had eight points.

“Our pressure was a lot better tonight,” said BHS coach Freda Craft. “We still need to work on our half court defense, but the girls did what they needed to do to get the win.

“Kennedy Spiller did a great job stepping up for us,” said Craft. “Overall, I’m glad to get the win. The girls did a great job playing hard.”

Mercedes Morgan pumped in a game-high 27 points to lead the Lady Falcons (1-14, 1-2). Ariel Hilliard contributed 21 points.

Brookhaven 52, Wingfield 42 

The Panthers and Falcons provided plenty of excitement for their basketball fans both offensive and defensively.

In the opening quarter, the Panthers quickly set the flow of the game by claiming a 15-4 lead.

In the second quarter, the Falcons charged back and kept Ole Brook off balance with their aggressive style, but the Panthers managed to take a 27-15 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Falcons continued to keep the Panthers off balance with their physically aggressive defense as Wingfield outscored Brookhaven 27-25 but fell short of overcoming Brookhaven’s big lead.

Junior forward Tavis Moore had a big night for the Panthers, leading the team in scoring with 16 points and five rebounds. Shaquan Richardson chipped in 11 points and was the leader on the boards with seven rebounds.

“We got off to a great start in the first quarter, but failed to take Wingfield completely out of the game,” said Brookhaven coach Preston Wilson. “Wingfield’s aggressive defense got us rattled, and we struggled at times, but we managed to fight through it to get the win

“Tavis Moore stepped up big and played his best game of the year for us,” continued Wilson. “Overall, this was a good win for us, but we still need to keep improving.”

Fredrick Wilson was the top scorer for the Falcons with a team-high 15 points. Jarvis Jacobs netted 12 points. Marcus Roberts lead on the boards for Wingfield with nine rebounds.