HUNTSVILLE — Jay Watkins made his presence felt on both ends of the court when his team needed it, and the Austin Black Bears stifled Huntsville’s offense late to hold on for a 51-47 overtime win.

“He plays with lots of intensity,” said Austin coach Demond Garth.

Watkins led all scorers with 21 points. He provided the Black Bears with a strong interior presence offensively and defensively throughout the game.

Neither team took command of the game in regulation. The largest lead came when Huntsville took a 36-31 lead late in the third period to cap a 13-4 run.

After an Austin 14-6 rally put the Black Bears ahead 45-42, Huntsville’s Jacob Perry tied the game with a 3-pointer.

From there, the game went into overtime. Watkins, who scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, scored all six of Austin’s overtime points. He also grabbed a key defensive rebound with 10.9 seconds remaining in overtime with his team leading by only two points.

The Panthers fouled Watkins after the rebound, and he added the game’s icing points by making both free throws. Fittingly, the game ended with the ball in Watkins’ hands after Chris Key blocked a Panthers’ shot attempt and Watkins secured the rebound.

“We made several key defensive stops down the stretch when we had to,” Garth said.

The Black Bears cut down on Huntsville scoring opportunities close to the basket, and closed out the game by holding the Panthers to only two points in overtime.

Ricky Sears added nine points, and Verkeneo Mann and Terrence Harris scored seven points apiece for Austin (13-6).

Eric Russell led the Panthers with 16 points, and Ladarius Horton contributed 12 points.

Austin girls 49, Huntsville 42 (OT): Nikkia Jordan and Melissa Thompson each scored 11 points to lead Austin.

“Huntsville outplayed us,” Austin girls coach Bruce Hamilton said. “We were fortunate to win. We’re definitely going to have to play better. We have a big game coming up with Decatur.”

Down 38-35 in the closing minutes, the Lady Black Bears pulled within 38-37 on a Thompson 2-point basket. The Lady Panthers failed to open the scoring margin by making only one of two free throws on one possession and missing the front end of a one and one on a following possession.

With the Austin deficit 39-37, Tamya Thompson, who scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds, made the game-tying points to force overtime.

Austin scored eight of its 10 points from the free-throw line to clinch the victory. Jordan scored five points in the extra period.

“Some of our young players rose up and made big plays down the stretch,” Hamilton said. “We executed better in overtime.”

Chelsea Mason scored nearly half of Huntsville’s total points with a game-high 21 points and added a game-high nine rebounds.

Kambria Peterson also pulled down nine boards for the Lady Panthers.