The “White Coats” held on to beat the “Brainiacs” 52-49, and the sixth annual Hoops for Kids basketball game raised more than $7,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sandhills Thursday night.

“We’re very excited about winning, but more importantly, we’re very excited about raising $7,000. That was great,” said Dr. Ray Washington, of Pinehurst Surgical.

Washington served as player/coach for the White Coats team of doctors and FirstHealth of the Carolinas employees, which for the third year in a row battled a team of Moore County school employees nicknamed the Roundball Brainiacs in the featured match-up, with the coveted “cast” trophy on the line.

James Moore Gym at Pinecrest High School hosted the event, which opened with an exhibition that pitted a team of Boys and Girls Club members against principals and school administrators. The kids won 27-14, despite the principals being spotted a four-point lead.

“We could have played better, but they told us not to take it too hard on the old people,” said Maliek Stanford, a Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sandhills member.

In the nightcap, the White Coats carried a 30-26 lead into halftime, after a semmingly trapped Washington hit Dr. John Shepherd, of Pinehurst Nephrology Associates, with a jump pass that resulted in a layup with six seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The White Coats opened the second half with a James Winkley three-pointer, which sparked a 7-0 run that extended the lead to 37-26 after back-to-back Aaron Decker baskets. They matched their largest lead at 11 points two more times in the third quarter, but the Brainiacs closed the quarter with a 7-1 run and opened the fourth quarter on a 9-1 run to take a 49-46 lead with 2:53 to play.

Pinecrest coach Larry Alford scored 11 of his game-high 25 points during the stretch and gave the Brainiacs their largest lead of the second half at 49-46 when he grabbed a teammate’s missed free throw and dunk it with 2:53 remaining in the game.

The White Coats, seemingly content to save their starters for the final few minutes, answered with a three-point play from Jeff Moody to tie the game at 49. They took the lead back for good when Washington assisted Dr. Michael Antil, of the Pinehurst Medical Clinic, on a jumper from the right corner that touched nothing but net with 1:24 to play.

“We tried just to do enough so we wouldn’t get hurt,” said Washington. “We’re all old. Those guys are a lot younger than us.”

The Brainiacs had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute, as the White Coats missed the front end of three consecutive one-and-one opportunities. But the educators were unable to connect.

“This will give us something to work on for next year,” said Brainiacs coach Dr. Eric Porter. “We just couldn’t get anything to fall right at the end.”

Shepherd set the final margin with a free throw with 13 seconds remaining.

Antil and Shepherd led the White Coats with 10 points apiece, and Decker added nine while Moody finished with eight.

Turnover plagued the schools team, as the Brainiacs committed 14 turnovers in the game. But afterward, the game wasn’t necessarily what people were talking about.

“We just enjoy being able to give back to the community, and it’s all for the kids,” said Porter.