The Brookhaven Panthers won the last time they faced the North Pike Jaguars, and things went their way on Tuesday too. Brookhaven enjoyed a cozy 69-51 victory over North Pike. Given Brookhaven's advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while North Pike is ranked 228th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brookhaven was led to victory by Jaylen Haliburton and Nicholas Gamble. Haliburton scored 25 points along with five rebounds, while Gamble dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. That makes it five consecutive games in which Haliburton has scored at least 25% of Brookhaven's points. Jay Ross was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with six assists.
Brookhaven is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. As for North Pike, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost eight of their last nine matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Brookhaven will face off against Natchez at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Ronald Ellis Jr and Haliburton. As for North Pike, they will head out on the road to face off against Florence at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Florence is coming into the game on a six-game losing streak.
