It took a final push in the waning minutes of the game to outlast a team that hadn’t lost a class 4, area 3 game all season, but the Southside Panthers ended up beating the Thomasville Tigers by 13 points.

Charles Price, DeQuan Johnson and Kentavius Page all scored 15-plus points in a Southside (10-11) 60-47 victory over Thomasville Tuesday at home. The Panthers’ win secured Southside’s position a No. 3 seed in the area tournament.

Southside will play the loser of Thomasville-Monroe County Thursday matchup in the first round of the area tournament in February.

“This area is pretty much evenly matched, so any given night you can be beat,” said Southside head coach Cedric Brown. “No sense of being comfortable. No sense of being complacent.”

Price, who led the Panthers with 18 points, scored six of the first eight points for Southside. Keshawn Williams curled around the defense for a layup with five seconds left in the first quarter for a layup that made it 13-10 in favor of the Tigers.

Page gave Southside its first lead of the game after sinking two free throws to put the Panthers in front 14-13. Page made all seven of his free throw attempts on the night.

Price completed a three-point play to extend the Southside lead to 19-16 with 3:47 left in the first half. Thomasville answered with a 7-0 run to grab a 23-19 lead.

Page converted a 3-point play with 23 seconds left and Price scored on a tip-in to tie the game 28-28 at halftime.

Southside kept pace with Thomasville in a low-scoring third quarter. The Tigers led by two points late in the period, but Johnson made a layup with two seconds remaining to tie the score again 35-35.

The Panthers raced out to a 42-37 lead to begin the fourth quarter, capped off by a Price 3-pointer with 6:46 on the clock. Two minutes had elapsed and Southside trailed 45-42, plagued by a Thomasville 8-0 run.

Southside answered once again, this time with a 9-0 run. Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining to put Southside back in front 46-45. Johnson scored the next five points to give Southside a 51-45 lead with just under two minutes to play.

Price made a layup and sank two free throws with under a minute to play to seal the victory, and Williams added one last 3-pointer just for good measure.

“That’s all basketball. A game of runs,” Brown said. “They ran. We ran. We withstood their last. That’s what it’s all about. Buckling down, grinding games out in the clutch.”

Southside 31, Thomasville 28 (girls)

Southside held its opponent to three first quarter points. In the second quarter, Southside didn’t let the opposition score more than five points.

The Panthers’ stifling defense gave its offense just enough wiggle room to complete a three-point victory, as Southside defeated Thomasville 31-28 Tuesday to break a tie to secure at least the No. 3 seed in the class 4A, area 3 tournament.

If Clarke County defeated Monroe County Tuesday, Southside will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

Southside head coach Kayla Mason said she saw cohesiveness in her team Tuesday night that she had been looking for all season.

“They worked together,” Mason said.

“They finally have started to work together and play as a team and have each other’s back no matter what. And it’s something I’ve been waiting on all season.”

Sha’Rita Benjamin outscored the Tigers in the first quarter with four points. Southside scored 10 points in the second quarter to take a 15-8 halftime lead.

The Panthers came out of the half with momentum on their side. Benjamin made a layup to put Southside in front 19-8, while the Tigers didn’t score until nearly midway through the third quarter.

Antonyah Dudley knocked down a floater to give Southside a 21-10 lead. Cynthia Ford maintained Southside’s sizeable lead when she pulled down an offensive rebound and connected on a layup to give the Panthers a 24-15 advantage with a minute and a half remaining in the third quarter.

Thomasville started finding its scoring groove late in the third quarter, but Southside responded with points each time. The Panthers led 28-17 with one quarter remaining.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Southside turned over Thomasville four times.

The Panthers led 29-17 early in the period, and despite the Tigers’ late comeback attempt, Southside held strong for a crucial win in area play.

“If you play with intensity on defense, then good results will happen,” Mason said.