THOMASVILLE — Brookwood School tipped off its inaugural Holiday Hoops Classic on Wednesday, and the home teams began their three days at the event well.

The girls pulled away from Maclay late in the Classic’s opening game, taking a 54-43 win against the Marauders at Joe and Mary Beverly Athletic Center. Later in the day, the boys took on North Florida Christian, escaping a fourth quarter comeback bid in the final minute with a 50-45 victory.

The third quarter of the boys game was a strong one for the Warriors, as they went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 34-24 headed into the final frame. However, the Eagles were not done, and quickly bounced back starting with a made 3.

Brookwood was losing ground, but scored just enough to keep NFC from taking over.

As the clocked began to tick down to zero, the Eagles made a final push, with Andre Combs making a 3 to cut Brookwood’s lead to 43-39. The Warriors’ Christian Bell and Sam Barrett scored when they needed to, the latter on back-to-back possessions to maintain the advantage. Still, the Eagles had a chance down 49-45 with 19 seconds left. Ultimately, NFC had to foul, and Brookwood made their ensuing free throws, securing the close win.

Barrett and Kyle Ostrom scored 12 points each to lead the Warriors, with Bell following with 10.

The girls game started very close with a 5-5 tie with a minute left in the first. Brookwood took the lead late in the period, with Ann Murray Jackson scoring to get the game to 11-8 headed into the second.

Holland Walker extended the Warriors’ lead further, connecting on a 3 for a 16-8 lead before Jordan Thompson and Mollie Vick added some more scores.

The Warriors led 26-19 at the halfway point, but Maclay put together a run in the third to narrow the gap to 37-34 heading into the fourth. The Marauders eventually took their first lead of the game with 6:17 left, but Thompson gave it right back to the Warriors with two scores as Brookwood put together a 11-3 run to secure its first win of the three-day event.

Caroline Deese led her team with 13 points, with Thompson and Walker adding 10 each.