Triton started All American 3-A/4-A Conference play Tuesday with a varsity basketball split against visiting E.E. Smith, as the Triton girls absorbed their first loss of the season and the Triton boys won a back-and-forth battle.

A late pair of free throws from junior Sabine Wheeler accounted for the final lead change as Triton rallied in the fourth quarter to beat E.E. Smith 75-73 in the boys game.

“It was an up and down kind of game,” said Triton boys coach T.J. Morrison. “We gave up eight points in the first quarter, which we liked. We gave up 29 in the second quarter, which we didn’t like. We had 16 turnovers at halftime, on the verge of getting blown out. They’re a really good team and coached well. I don’t know that we played our best and I don’t know that we deserved it, but we found a way and we’re tickled to death to have two nights of practice after two straight nights of games and getting to play again on Friday.”

Junior Jalen Evans had 20 points, eight assists and six steals and junior Will Heard had 16 points to lead the Hawks (5-2, 1-0 AAC).

“I think we’re going to feed off of what they do,” Morrison said. “Especially Jalen’s leadership and Will shooting the basketball. If Jalen can lead and Will can hit some shots, we’re going to feed off of that and we’ll be able to make plays.”

Jaleel White had eight points. Quashaun Williams had seven points and five rebounds. Romello Pegues had six points. Nate McKoy had four points, six rebounds and three blocks. James Shaw had four points and six rebounds. J.J. Cowan had four points. Wheeler had four points. Hayden Pope had two points.

Senior Darius Robinson had 26 points and senior Triston Robinson had 14 points to lead the Golden Bulls (2-2, 0-1).

Triton held a narrow 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Darius Robinson scored 21 of his 26 points in the second quarter as the Golden Bulls outscored the Hawks 29-19 to lead 37-30 at halftime.

E.E. Smith held a 59-52 lead early in the fourth quarter when a three-pointer from Evans sparked a 14-3 Triton run to give the Hawks a 66-62 lead.

The score was tied 72-72 with just under one minute left in regulation when Cowan drew a hard foul. He left the game with an apparent lower back injury and Morrison chose Wheeler to enter the game and shoot the ensuing free throws. He made both to put Triton back in front.

“Those were big,” Morrison said. “Glad (Wheeler) was the guy that got in there and glad he made them. You never know how that’s going to go. You hope you picked right and then he knocked them down.”

With eight seconds left, E.E. Smith’s Joshua Smith drew a foul, but made just one of the two free throws. The Bulls got the ball back off of a turnover, but missed the potential go-ahead basket and fouled Williams. He made just one of the two free throws, but with just 0.3 seconds left, there was not enough time for the Bulls to get another shot off.

Triton’s 37 turnovers were costly as the Hawks fell 52-21 to E.E. Smith in the girls game, their first loss of the season.

“Our bad habits finally caught up to us, I’m going to be honest,” said Triton girls coach Richard Rozier. “Through the games we kind of got away with it purely based on talent. That’s a top 25 team in the east. They are a very well coached team. Coach (Latanya) Hardy) had those girls very well prepared and I will definitely take the fall for that. I did not have our girls prepared for tonight. But we will be, going forward.”

Freshman Unique Cooke had six points and 17 rebounds to lead the Hawks (6-1, 0-1).

A’Shari Watlington and JaNiah Smith had five points apiece. Abby Hood had three points and two blocks. Tristan Ennis had two points and nine rebounds.

Junior Skylar White had 16 points and junior Keashiana Murphy had 12 points to pace the Golden Bulls (3-1, 1-0).

E.E. Smith outscored Triton 13-4 in the first quarter, 19-5 in the second, 12-5 in the third and 8-7 in the fourth.

Triton is at conference opponent Terry Sanford on Friday night before taking a week off for exams and returning to action at home against nonconference opponent Wakefield on Dec. 17. E.E. Smith is at home against conference foe Overhills on Friday night.