KNIGHTDALE - When the final buzzer sounded at the end of an epic battle between conference rivals Garner and Knightdale Friday night, the Trojans came out on top and their coach, Eddie Gray, was as tired and sweaty as his team.

He was also in shock after his Trojans came back from a first quarter 14-point deficit to beat the Knights on their home court 65-61.

“Knightdale is always tough,” Gray said. “They were really up for the game and did a great job. It’s always a donnybrook coming over here.”

Battle Watkins, the Knights’ coach, was proud of his team for putting up a tough fight.

”Garner is probably one of the top teams in the state. I believe we outplayed them, but they figured out how to pull it out in the end, and congratulations to them,” he said. “It was a really good game, a fun high school game.”

It marked the first conference loss for Knightdale (4-1 Greater Neuse River 4A), while Garner improved to 5-0 in the league.

Knightdale got off to a fast start in the first quarter, outscoring Garner by a three-to-one ratio and jumping to a 20-7 lead in the first 8 minutes of play.

The Trojans came roaring back in the second quarter, scoring 13 unanswered points in the first two minutes of play. A 3-point shot by Garner guard Gavin Wilson tied the game at 20-20.

But the Knights pulled ahead again in the final minutes of the first half. When the teams retreated for their halftime break the score was 33-24, Knightdale.

Third-quarter action whipped the fans into a frenzy as the teams traded baskets, but Knightdale held onto its lead through most of the third quarter. Garner struck again with 16 seconds left in the third on a 3-pointer by guard Anthony Tucker.

The Knights led throughout most of the fourth quarter, but with just 3 minutes left on the clock the Trojans began taking the lead for the first time of the night.

With just over a minute left to play, the score was tied 58-58. Knightdale forced turnovers, but they did not pay off. Garner, one the other hand, hit 10 out of 12 shots from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and took a 5-point lead with seconds left on the clock.

A three-point shot by Knightdale’s Jeremy Lee pulled the Knights to within 3 points and brought the crowd to their feet, but it was too late.

Garner power forward Dominique Reed sealed the game with a buzzer-beating dunk and the Trojans came away with the four-point win.

The Knightdale players were grim as they left the court.

“Of course they are disappointed. They put their heart and soul into this game,” Watkins said. “We had a game plan. We executed. We did great things. We just didn’t finish. Now we will have to step back and see what we have to do to finish better.”

Gray was both excited and relieved over his team’s victory.

“I’m proud of my kids. They really hung in there and they didn’t give up,” he said.

Reed led the Trojans with 19 points, followed by Cameron Redd with 14, Julius Barnes with 7, Wilson with 7, Larry Richardson with 6, Tucker with 5, Josh McClain with 5 and DaShawn Stubler with 2 points.

Knightdale was led by Quez Crowell with 15 points, followed by Curry Lassiter with 12, Brian Okoye with 10, Marquavious Johnson with 9, Marcel Johnson with 4, Ronshad Allen Shabbaz, Kaelon Weldon and Jeremy Lee with 3 points each, and Keenan Wright with 2.