Preview: Brookhaven Panthers vs. Wingfield Falcons
The Brookhaven Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Wingfield Falcons at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Brookhaven has six straight victories, Wingfield has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Crystal Springs scored an imposing 61 points on Tuesday, Brookhaven still came out on top. Brookhaven took their game against Crystal Springs 70-61. Given Brookhaven's advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while Crystal Springs is ranked 149th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Brookhaven to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jamarius Malone, who scored 19 points. That's the first time this season that Malone scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Haliburton, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Wingfield was the victim of a rough 76-54 loss at the hands of Murrah on Tuesday.
Despite their loss, Wingfield saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Tyler Arrington, who scored 20 points along with three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Arrington scored a full 37% of Wingfield's points, the seventh time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Orenthal Claiborne, who scored 11 points.
Wingfield struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-3) when they can't control their own glass like that.
Brookhaven pushed their record up to 9-2 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Wingfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Brookhaven have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 38.7% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Wingfield struggles in that department as they've drained 38.7% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Brookhaven strolled past Wingfield in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 by a score of 74-55. Will Brookhaven repeat their success, or does Wingfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
