Southside High has one of Dallas County’s top scoring basketball teams.

Mix in a little defense, the Panthers are tough to beat.

Christopher Thomas scored 27 points as the Panthers beat Ellwood Christian Academy 82-63 on Tuesday night at Panthers Gymnasium.

“It’s all about defense,” Panthers coach Darrell Walker said. “We came up with a 2-2-1 defensive set. We’re going to go back and tweak it.”

The Panthers had a balanced attack against the Eagles, producing three other double-digit scorers.

Taye Spears added 17 points for the Panthers. Antonio Davis scored 11 points off the bench. Ernest Hatcher finished with 10 points.

The contest was competitive until the end of the third quarter when the Eagles’ top two players, Terrance Davis and Cameron Prince, eventually fouled out.

Without Prince and Davis, the Panthers pulled away.

Prince led the Eagles with 19 points, Davis scored eight.

Joseph Mahone had 11 points for ECA, while Quinton Jones scored 10.

Southside girls 65, ECA 23: Kylan Brown scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made seven steals for the Lady Panthers.

Jakeria Parker scored 18 points as Southside led from the opening tip. The Lady Panthers led 21-9 after one quarter, 43-14 at halftime and took a 61-21 lead into the game’s final eight minutes.

Domeria Pratt led the Lady Eagles with a game-high 12 points. She was the only ECA player in double figures.