DAILY LEADER / MARTY ALBRIGHT / Brookhaven forward Tavis Moore powers to the basketball as Pearl River Central defender Terek Whitehead tries to deny the play Friday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Brookhaven Panthers and Lady Panthers celebrated Senior Night with two big Region 6-5A victories over the Pearl River Central Blue Devils Friday night in Sinclair Gymnasium.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Panthers overpowered the Lady Blue Devils 50-14.

In boys’ action, the Panthers managed to overcome a sluggish first quarter to torch the Blue Devils 69-43.

The Panthers basketball fans and families gathered to celebrate Senior Night as the Brookhaven faculty honored the senior members on the basketball team, cheerleader squad and ROTC squad. The seniors on the basketball team are Fredericka Fairman, Diamond Herring, Martavious Brooks, Fred Trevillion, Carl King, Khalil Newton and Tyler Thomas.

Brookhaven returns to action Tuesday to invade Jackson to battle the Wingfield Falcons in a varsity doubleheader. The girls will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 7:30.

Brookhaven 50, Pearl River 14

The Lady Panthers (13-10, 3-2) came out and provided a strong offensive show for the basketball fans as they quickly took a 28-7 lead before heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Brookhaven continued to overwhelm the young Lady Devils by outscoring PRC 22-7 to secure the win.

Jessica Wilson provided the offensive spark to lead the Lady Panthers with 14 points. She was also the leader on the boards with eight rebounds. Senior Diamond Herring fueled the flames with 10 points and six boards.

“Glad to get the win,” said BHS coach Freda Craft. “The girls played really well tonight. It was a tremendous improvement from the last game. Hopefully, we can continued this momentum next week when we visit Wingfield.”

Kim Gutierrez and Brandi Lee were the top scorers for the Lady Blue Devils with four points apiece.

Brookhaven 69, Pearl River 43 

The Panthers (19-5, 5-0) managed to overcome a sluggish first quarter performance to drill the Blue Devils 24-6 in the second quarter to take a comfortable 32-13 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Ole Brook continued to flex their muscles on offense and defense by outscoring Pearl River Central 39-30 to preserve the win and stay undefeated in the boys’ region race.

Fred Trevillion paced the Panthers’ offensive charge with a team-high 16 points. Shaquan Richardson chipped in 13 points. Khalil Newton provided 11 points and was the leader on the boards with five rebounds.

“We came out sluggish in the first quarter as we made change to our lineup to give our seniors a chance to start the game,” said Brookhaven coach Preston Wilson. “But the guys continued fight through the situation and played aggressive on both sides on the court. In the second quarter, we managed to settle down and open up our lead to get the win.”

Alex Travis fired in 20 points to lead the Blue Devils.

DAILY LEADER / MARTY ALBRIGHT / Brookhaven’s Diamond Herring (32) waits for her teammates to set up while Pearl River Central’s Brandi Lee (15) applies pressure Friday night.