Southside turned up the pressure defensively in the third quarter and stormed past rival Selma 91-61 Friday night for a badly needed win.

Charles Price dunked twice in the third quarter — once off a behind the back pass from Lee Underwood and again on a fast break — and scored 27 points to lead Southside. The Panthers (5-4) had lost four straight games coming in and played like a desperate team Friday.

“It means a lot to be back on that winning side,” said Southside head coach Cedric Brown, who was also celebrating his 31st birthday Friday. “We’ve been on a four game losing streak but at the same time we’ve been on the road for four games playing four quality opponents. To come back and respond this way in front of your home crowd, it means a lot going into the break.”

The crowd was standing room only and it was loud for all three games, including a junior varsity contest that went down to the wire.

The energy in the gym gave the Panthers a spark early and Southside put on a show in the third quarter.

Selma (7-6) went into halftime with all the momentum after making three consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half. Southside still led 39-33 at that point, but the Saints had to feel good going into the locker room after being down double digits most of the first half.

The Panthers took back control quickly.

“We made some minor adjustments at the half defensively and when we made those adjustments defensively, we got a chance to get in out in transition and run a little bit,” Brown said.

Kentavius Page scored eight of his 21 points in the third quarter, including knocking down two 3-pointers. Price seemed to do everything else.

Price outscored Selma 13-12 in the third quarter and helped Southside stretch its lead to 71-45 going into the fourth quarter.

Southside pressed the shorthanded Saints, who were without starters Loveless Craig and Aderick Moore, and Selma turned it over leading to scores in transition for the Panthers.

At that point, the game was over.

Both teams played reserves in the fourth quarter as Southside built its lead up to 30.

“We just didn’t play with that energy in the third quarter that we did at the end of the second quarter,” said Selma head coach Woodie Jackson.

Quentavious Davis scored 15 points to lead Selma and Kentravious White added another 14.