The Southside Panthers controlled the tempo from start to finish on their way to a 75-41 win over the Opp Bobcats in area play on Tuesday.

Cedric Brown, head boys basketball coach of Southside (12-6, 2-1, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A), said the Panthers played their style of basketball on the night.

“We came out tonight and pretty much played our game that we want to play this year. We kind of controlled the tempo the entire game through pressure on defense,” Brown said. “The guys already know, if you can’t defend, you can’t stay on the floor with people. We cannot continue to trade basket for basket.”

The Panthers only trailed once on the night when Opp’s JaKeith Edwards scored the game’s first basket.

Southside controlled the first quarter, forcing turnovers with pressure defense and running the floor to score baskets in transition.

Jeffery Mack scored 9 points in the opening quarter alone for the Panthers, as they took a 21-11 lead into the second period.

Edwards opened the second with a pair of free throws to cut the Southside lead to single digits at 21-13, but Southside went on a 9-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Jhalandis Sullivan and an alley oop from Je’von Hall to Mack that helped put the Panthers up 32-15 with 3:13 left in the first half.

Southside took a 37-22 lead into halftime before outscoring Opp 25-11 in the third quarter to take a 62-33 lead into the fourth.

Hall led Southside with 21 points, while Mack had 17 points, Octavius Gulley had 12 points and Sullivan had 10 points for the Panthers.

Edwards led all scorers with 22 points on the night.

Southside will take the floor again Friday at Keith with games starting at 5:30 p.m.