Just call the Round Ball Brainiacs promise keepers.

After coming up short in last year's Hoops for Kids basketball game, the team representing Moore County Schools promised a victory in this year's game. They delivered, defeating the White Coats, 84-70, in the annual charity game played Thursday night at Pinecrest High School.

"It feels good to win," said Brainiacs head coach Eric Porter. "But the real important thing is that we had a good time, played everybody, represented the county well and raised money for a good cause."

With money still to be counted, the event raised $8,800 with all proceeds from the event benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills.

Charles Roberts helped raise a sizable chunk of that money, selling more than $2,000 worth of tickets to the game.

"I really appreciate everybody coming out and supporting this cause," said Dr. Ray Washington, captain of the White Coats team. "I feel like we are a winner tonight."

The Brainiacs took control of the game early, scoring the last nine points of the first quarter to take a 21-11 lead.

The lead grew to 55-43 after three quarters when Pinecrest coach Larry Shields hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from half court.

The White Coats opened the fourth quarter with a 13-4 scoring spurt to cut the lead to 59-56. During the run Rob "Rob C" Cavana scored five points and John Shepherd and Jeff Moody each scored four points.

The schools answered with a 8-0 run to push the lead back to double-digits, 67-56 with 4:55 remaining in the game.

The White Coats got no close than five after that. The Brainiacs' Larry Alford punctuated the win with a crowd-pleasing dunk in the game's final seconds.

After the game, Porter said he planned tour to coveted trophy -- which features a cast on top -- around the schools.

"There were so many people who participated and made this win possible," Porter said.

This was the fifth year for the game. The first three years, a team of doctors played a team of FirstHealth employees with the doctors winning two of three. Last year the teams joined forces and played the Moore County Schools.

The White Coats won last year's game 65-63.

As for next season, Washington, who played limited minutes due to injury, promised the White Coats would be ready in 2010.

"We definitely got something to work on for next year," he said with a smile.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.