COLLINSVILLE — A win didn’t come at a better time for Quitman. Behind the play of John Lacy and a defense that forced numerous turnovers, the Panthers got past West Lauderdale 50-37 in a pivotal Region 5-4A matchup on Friday night. “We’re finally playing tough — that has been the biggest thing for us,” Quitman coach Chris Coleman said. “I’m proud of these guys, because they’re buying into a new identity of the team.” The Panthers (9-11, 3-3 Region 5-4A) have made several lineup changes and might have found one to carry into the second half of division play and the district tournament, which is at West Lauderdale. “We’ve been playing as a team more the last few games,” Coleman said. “We’ve had so many guys step in so many roles, so hopefully they can carry us down the stretch. Jed Lewis, our point guard we got after Christmas, has stepped up and he has been great for us.” Junior forward John Lacy had a game-high 17 points to lead Quitman. “He has been everything for us. He is a walking double-double and can do everything a post player can do plus shoot and pass the ball,” Coleman said. “He is doing so much for us down the stretch. We’ve got to find ways to give him a break. We need him to score more points in the fourth quarter, but in every division game he has had close to 20 rebounds.” The Panthers never trailed the entire game. It was a defensive struggle to start that saw Quitman up 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Panthers then got things going in the final three minutes of the second quarter, ending the period on a 9-2 run and held a 26-16 lead at halftime. Quitman only allowed West Lauderdale to score eight points in the first, second and third quarter. Jakobe Arrington added 12 points for Quitman, while ShMarcus Williams chipped in six points for the Panthers. “Now it’s anybody’s division,” Coleman said. “We’re 3-3 and we still got work to do. Northeast Lauderdale is sitting in first place and has had our number for quite a while.” Zach Merrell had 15 points to lead West Lauderdale (14-7, 3-3). “They physically whipped us,” West Lauderdale coach Duran Clark said. “We could not match their intensity at all.”