Daily Leader / Marty Albright / Brookhaven Danarius Gray (1) drives in to score a layup over a South Jones defender in Wednesday night boys’ action at Sinclair Gymnasium.

Brookhaven’s high-powered offense was too much for the South Jones Tigers to handle as the Panthers roared to a 71-55 victory in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs Wednesday night at Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Panthers (22-4), coached by Jimmie Butler, will advance to the second round of the playoffs as they travel to Pascagoula to play the Panthers on Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Brookhaven 71, South Jones 55 

The Panthers were red hot in the opening period, claiming an early 22-9 lead. In the second, both teams played an evenly matched contest but Brookhaven carried a 38-23 lead into halftime.

The Tigers threatened on several occasions in the second half, cutting the lead down to 10 points three times in the contest. But the Panthers would respond with a surge of their own to push their lead back out. Brookhaven won the scoring battle 33-32 in the final two quarters for the win.

“This was a good win for our guys,” said Butler. “We came out and set the tone of the game early and relied on our defense to help us get the win in the second half.”

“We are again thankful for our accomplishments and the opportunity to play on Saturday. South Jones has a great shooting team. We will need our Panther fans to travel with us on Saturday as we visit Pascagoula in the second round of the playoffs.”

The Panthers had three players to score in double figures as Darrian Wilson led the charge with 18 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots. Danarius Gray chipped in 17 points. Damarius Brooks netted 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lazorian McNulty provided eight points, four rebounds and three steals. Lafolette Bogan scored seven points. Shon Blackwell had three points. Garrick Smith was the leader on the boards with six rebounds and scored two points.

Jalen Keys was the top scorer for the Tigers with 16 points. Tobias Lewis contributed 14 points.