Basketball Game Preview: Mendenhall Tigers vs. Brookhaven Panthers

A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Mendenhall Tigers duke it out with the Brookhaven Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday... Mendenhall's defense has only allowed 29.7 points per game this season, so Brookhaven's offense will have their work cut out for them.

Mendenhall is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Forrest County Agricultural just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 47-39 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Aggies. The contest marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Meanwhile, Brookhaven had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They walked away with a 59-47 victory over the Tigers. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 47th, while the Tigers are ranked 176th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Brookhaven's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.4 points per game. As for Mendenhall, their defeat ended a ten-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 8-2.

Mendenhall was taken down by Brookhaven 66-39 in their previous matchup back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Mendenhall, Jaylen Haliburton (who went 6 of 13 en route to 19 points along with seven steals and six assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.