ATLANTA – For the second year in a row, the Eastside Eagles boys basketball season has ended in heartbreaking fashion.

The Eagles faced the No. 1 seeded Pace Academy Knights in what could be considered as one of the premier games of the entire season for Newton County basketball. A 21-point performance from MVP candidate Christian Gatewood led the Eagles to an impressive underdog performance against the Knights, who had not lost a game this entire calendar year.

After 31 minutes and 55 seconds of back-and-forth action, the Eagles held a 46-43 lead and were in the driver’s seat for a trip to the Elite Eight. But with one last ditch effort, the Knights’ Brian Clark sunk a game-tying three with five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

Both teams took turns exchanging the lead in the four-minute overtime period. However, the Knights proved to be one step ahead of the Eastside, sending the Eagles back to the nest with a 55-57 defeat.

Though the game proved to be a dual-sided thriller, the first four minutes of the game was anything but that. The Eagles proved they came ready to play after earning their first Sweet Sixteen bid since the 2022-23 season, going up 10-0 on the Knights.

Pace Academy would score its first bucket with 3:27 left by way of Gavin Fountain. A minute later, Brielen Craft scored on a tough three-pointer for the Knights. The sophomore added five more points to bring the lead within two. Gatewood would get the last laugh, scoring a layup and building Eastside’s lead to 14-10.

Craft immediately went back to work for the Knights with his third three-pointer to hit the double-digit mark. But as Craft began to cool down, Jevon Sullivan began to heat up. The junior accounted for seven points off the bench after not playing the first quarter.

Even with Sullivan’s spark, the Eagles still struggled to contain the Knights’ offense. This caught up to them by way of a Clark three-pointer with two seconds left in the second quarter. The shot gave the Knights their first lead of the night at 22-23 and ultimately foreshadowed what was to come later in the game.

After Fountain and Clark got things started in the third quarter, Eastside found a second wave of momentum. 

Led by Gatewood, the Eagles went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 35-30.  The 6-foot-6 junior did it all from scoring, to rebounding and blocking to give the Eagles a 39-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Gatewood’s big game continued in the fourth quarter as he added two crucial blocks and added three more points to hit the 19-point mark for the game. 

With a 44-39 lead at the 1:52 mark, the Eagles needed to keep the ball in their control. But that didn’t happen, with Eastside recording two turnovers that led to buckets.

The Knights needed to foul to keep the game in check, allowing Sullivan to nail two clutch free throws with 13 seconds remaining. 

With the Eagles up by three and Pace Academy holding possession, there was enough time for one last gasp effort to tie the game. Jaydon Avery inbounded the ball to Hayden Clay, who then passed it to Fountain. Fountain got the ball to Clark, who nailed the game-tying three pointer over the double coverage of Gatewood and Josiah Johnson.

Johnson attempted a full-court sprint and a buzzer-beating floater to win it outright, but it was well off target, giving the fans four minutes of free basketball.

The Eagles got on the board first by way of two Gatewood free throws, sending him over the 20-point mark. However, the Knights briefly retook the lead with a layup from Henry Dickert. 

On the ensuing possession, Roman Sullivan got his first bucket of the night and gave the Eagles a 50-49 lead at the 1:59 mark. That, however, was short lived after Avery hit two free throws in one of his many trips to the line.

Seconds later, Roman Sullivan lost his handle driving down the court, giving the ball back to the Knights. After a missed shot, the Eagles turned the ball over again, giving the Knights another chance. This time, Pace Academy made it count after Johnson fouled Clark on the shot attempt, ending Johnson’s game with five fouls. 

After Clark connected with the two free throws to make it 50-53, the Eagles committed a third turnover, putting the game in peril. But a missed shot by Avery allowed Roman Sullivan to hit a crucial layup in transition to cut the lead to one.

The Eagles immediately fouled Avery, allowing him to hit two shots to bring the lead back to 52-55 in Pace’s favor. On the ensuing possession, Roman Sullivan lost his handle again, accounting for the Eagles fourth turnover in a one-minute span. 

Avery’s next trip to the free throw line was 1-2, giving the Knights a 52-56 lead with 18 seconds remaining. A quick play led to a missed three-pointer from Roman Sullivan, which forced the Eagles to foul again.

This time, Avery missed both free throws, giving the Eagles another chance. In desperation mode, Roman Sullivan passed the ball to his brother Jevon for a chance at a deep three-point shot. With no hesitation, the older Sullivan nailed the shot, giving the Eagles a short-lived chance at redemption.

The clock hit zero’s after Pace made the inbound pass, but not before Roman Sullivan could foul Dickert with 0.3 seconds remaining. Dickert hit 1-2 and blocked the hail-mary heave by Iverson Freeman to end the Eagles’ season.

Gatewood finished with a team-high 21 points, while Jevon Sullivan added 14 points off of the bench, Clark led all scorers with 22 points.

The loss ends the Eagles historic season with a 21-9 record, one of the best in school history. Six seniors – Johnson, Jordan Poole, KD Davis, Ty Miller, CJ Walker and Ashton Hawkins – depart the team as seniors. But key pieces such as Gatewood, Freeman and the Sullivans are all set to return for the 2026-27 season.