Triton won a varsity basketball sweep over visiting All American 3-A/4-A Conference and Harnett County rival Western Harnett on Tuesday night.

Triton dominated the first and third quarters to win 59-29 over Western Harnett in the girls game.

“That was a relief,” said Triton girls coach Richard Rozier. “Western Harnett is just so scrappy and I kind of emphasized that in practice yesterday and in the days before that we had to get off to a fast start, especially after how sluggish we were against Westover. I think it was imperative to get off to a fast start to set the tone.”

Western Harnett girls coach Matthew Smith liked the effort from his team, but said the Eagles were unable to recover from a rough start.

“We started out slow,” coach Smith said. “Second quarter we picked up. We scored some baskets second quarter. When we went to man-to-man defense, I feel like it put a little more pressure on them. Offensively, we just started slow and kind of ended the second quarter a little upbeat. I told them at halftime, ‘Just keep working.’ We play every game, we don’t play them by quarters anymore, we play them by half-quarters. Four minutes, four minutes. That’s all we do. And the girls are working their butts off.”

Junior Abby Hood had 14 points and seven steals, freshman Unique Cooke had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and senior Tristan Ennis had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Hawks (11-4, 5-4 AAC).

“(Hood) played a very well-rounded game,” Rozier said. “Got it going on the defensive end. I think that’s the most important part, making sure she gets going defensively and seeing the ball going in early.”

A’Shari Watlington had eight points and six assists. Aubree Bass had four points and six rebounds. Mahogany McKoy had two points, six rebounds and three blocks. JaNiah Smith had two points, four assists and five steals. Chyna Massey and Jaliyah McDougald had two points apiece.

“Just being team-oriented,” Rozier said. “I think that’s important for us to take that next step. We know who our scorers are and we know who our bell cows are. For everybody to be able to pitch in, though, that’s the best kind of night.”

Junior Sydney Jackson had 10 points to lead the Eagles (3-11, 1-8).

Makenyia Mackey had six points. Melissa Marte had four points. Shay McCants, Trinity Gaither and Savana Johnson had three points apiece.

Triton outscored Western 19-2 in the first quarter, 20-15 in the second and 12-3 in the third. Western outscored Triton 9-8 in the fourth quarter.

A hot start was also key for Triton’s boys in a 73-46 victory over Western Harnett.

“One of our goals is 20 assists a game,” said Triton boys coach T.J. Morrison. “If we can get 20 as a team, I feel like we had a really good game. I think we had 15 at halftime. We really emphasized getting your teammate the ball, getting your teammate a shot. They did a good job finding each other.”
Western Harnett boys coach Seth Womble said the Eagles struggled with transition defense.

“We didn’t get back very well in transition,” Womble said. “They got a lot of points in transition on us. I thought they played a good ball game, like they always do. They’re well coached. I’ve got a lot of respect for T.J. and his program. His players always play hard.”

All 13 players for Triton scored at least once in the contest.

“It’s nice to get everybody a chance to feel good a little bit,” Morrison said.

Junior Will Heard had 12 points to pace the Hawks (9-10, 4-6).

Jalen Evans had eight points. Nate McKoy and Sabine Wheeler each had seven points and five rebounds. Quashaun Williams and Elijah Stewart-Williams had seven points apiece. Jaleel White had five points. Hayden Pope, J.J. Cowan and Romello Pegues had four points apiece. Amir Jenkins and Carter Daughtry had three points apiece. James Shaw had two points.

Sophomore Donavan Thomas paced the Eagles with 20 points.

“He’s got a high motor,” Womble said. “He’s been one of the most consistent, as far as his attitude and his effort all year. When you see Don, he’s the same guy. He’s a cool dude and he plays that way. He’s calm. And we appreciate his effort. When he makes smart decisions, he typically plays great games.”

Fred Belk had 10 points. Ian Bristow had five points. Jaiden Odom had four points. Tyler Brown had three points. Jaden Maynard and Malachi Smith had two points apiece.

Triton outscored Western 25-12 in the first quarter, 21-13 in the second and 16-6 in the third. Western outscored Triton 15-11 in the fourth quarter.

In the junior varsity boys game, Triton rallied to take the game into overtime before defeating Western Harnett 51-48.

Western Harnett is at home against conference and county rival Harnett Central for Senior Night on Wednesday. Each Western Harnett team has just one senior: Makenyia Mackey for the girls and Tyler Brown for the boys.

Triton travels to conference opponent E.E. Smith on Thursday.