CHAPEL HILL - The first game of the season between the East Wake Academy Eagles and the Pace Academy Patriots ended with a buzzer beater miss by the Eagles that gave the Patriots a 36-33 win.

When the two teams met on Friday, Jan. 13, not much changed. The game ended with a misfire by Eagle senior Malachi Rocquemore as the Patriots slipped by with a 49-48 win.

The game started well for the Eagles, who jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Patriots regrouped to produce a 10–6 lead, but the Eagles pushed forward and tied the game 10-10 through the first quarter.

Pace Academy picked up its defensive pressure starting with a high line. This slight change in defensive tactics caused the Eagles to struggle with possession. They finished the first half with 12 turnovers and went into the halftime break trailing 29-18.

“Moving the ball is what earned us an early lead,” Eagle head coach Miguel Bonano said. “In the second quarter we got away from that dribbling up the court, shooting within 5 seconds of the possession and not moving the ball around. It hurt us. We turned the ball over and found ourselves down mostly by fast break points.”

Bonano made no halftime adjustments. He only told his players passing results in more opportunities to score, and scoring will get them back in the game.

The Eagles followed the game plan and dominated the third quarter 18-8, giving the visitors the 37-36 lead heading into the final frame.

The Patriots opened the fourth quarter scoring 10 unanswered points off turnovers, but East Wake Academy lingered.

With 14 seconds left in the game, senior Damarr McCarthy took a pass off an inbound play from Malachi Rocquemore, scored a 2-point basket and was fouled on the play. McCarthy with 9 seconds left in the game made the free throw to tie the game at 48.

The Patriots drew a foul on the ensuing possession and drew a foul, but missed the second of the two free throws that followed. McCarthy rebounded the ball passed it to senior Jimmy Polito, who fed Rocquemore. Rocquemore turned and got off a shot with two Pace Academy defenders in his face, but the shot bounced off the back of the rim and time expired.

McCarthy earned his third double-double in four games and fourth of the season with his 17-point, 12-rebound game. Sophomore Terrance McCarthy added 9 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Polito finished the game with 9 points, and sophomore Colin Blank had an 8 point effort in addition to Rocquemore’s 5.

After the game, Coach Bonano spoke of the effort of his team.

“They trusted me and they trusted each other and stuck to the game plan most of the time,” Bonano said. “When we did we played great, but the difference was really the 30-second period where we turned the ball over and allowing them to get to an 11-point halftime lead. But hey, they battled back and we had a great, great chance to win the game. We are playing very well now. If we can keep it up we can surprise some people in rest of the season.”