COVINGTON, Ga. — A strong performance by junior Iverson Freeman paved the way for the Eastside Eagles on Tuesday as they defeated Creekside Christian Academy 54-45.

It was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Cougars lead for the majority of the game.

However, a late push in the second half did the trick for an Eastside team that picked up its first win of the season against a 3-0 Creekside Christian group.

It was by no means a strong shooting day for the Eagles as a whole as the team combined to go 0-10 from beyond the arc.

However, the Eagles did not have a hard time getting to the basket with the likes of Freeman, Josiah Johnson and Christian Gatewood.

Early on, the Cougars held the edge as seniors Daylen Williams and Chase Maddox gave the eagles fits.

Back-to-back three pointers from Jayden Ringer and Maddox gave Creekside Christian its biggest lead of the day at 13-6, but it quickly dwindled.

The Cougars went on to hold a slim lead for the rest of the half, but the Eagles made it close.

Every time Creekside Christian scored, Eastside managed to answer shortly thereafter. Most of the time, it was at the hands of Freeman, who used his crafty dribbling and his athleticism to find lanes to the rim.

A late basket from Freeman allowed Eastside to only trail 15-17 at the end of the opening frame.

After a slow first quarter, Johnson got his first points of the day on a three-pointer that put Eastside ahead for the first time at 20-19.

Creekside Christian answered with a pair of three-pointers from Williams and Maddox to put the Cougars ahead by multiple baskets.

By the time halftime arrived, the Eagles trailed 24-29.

Eastside began to find some defensive success to start the second half, and it allowed it to get the score within one point when Johnson knocked down a pair of field goals.

With Johnson’s buckets, Eastside only trailed 28-29.

However, the rest of the third quarter proved to be the most contested frame of the day as each team traded the lead back-and-forth continuously.

Creekside Christian scored nine points in the frame, and seven of the points came at the free throw line.

For the Eagles, they got quality minutes from some other pieces such as Kenyan Davis and Kendall Bryant.

The game took a turn late in the third frame when Williams fell hard to the ground on a foul.

Williams never re-entered the game, which meant the Cougars had to play the final frame without its leading scorer.

Creekside Christian led 38-36 at the start of the final quarter, but Eastside found a way to play its best ball of the day when it needed it the most.

A quick score from Freeman tied the game, then a pair of quick baskets from Johnson put the Eagles ahead 42-38.

The rest was history.

The Cougars never regained the lead and never came close to threatening in the final minutes as Eastside held them in check.

Eastside slowly piled on the lead, but it was the final stretch of three straight scores from Freeman that sealed the deal with a 54-45 win.

The Eagles did all of their work without any three-pointers on Tuesday, but they also did it without the services of Jevon and Roman Sullivan, who did not play.

Freeman’s 19 points led the team as the junior shot 9-of-18 from the floor.

Johnson and Gatewood finished with 10 and nine points, respectively. Jordan Poole and Davis ended their days with seven points apiece.

Williams only played three quarters, but led Creekside Christian with 17 points. Behind WIlliams was Maddox with 10 points.

The win is the first for Eastside’s boys team this season as it rebounded from a close 51-52 loss to Columbia.

Up next for the Eagles is a battle with a cross-county rival in the form of Rockdale County on Saturday, Nov. 15.