Triton and visiting All American 3-A/4-A Conference and Harnett County rival Overhills split varsity basketball contests Friday, with Triton winning a rout in the girls game and Overhills narrowly escaping with a win in the boys game.

Overhills finished strong to edge Triton, 50-46, in the boys game.

“It starts with great execution at practice and everyone being ready,” said Overhills boys coach Joe Wylie. “We had two or three players foul out down the stretch and two of them normally get big minutes. And we had the next man step up, make free throws and get turnovers. Everyone being in tune starts at practice.”

Triton boys coach T.J. Morrison said some things did not break Triton’s way down the stretch.

“It hurts,” Morrison said. “We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position, but there were a few times where we thought we had executed or we thought we had a chance but it just didn’t go our way. There was a little inbounds play where we ran it and got Will (Heard) to the corner. I thought he was going to hit that three and they called a moving screen. Another one, on the sideline we thought we had a steal and it went out of bounds.

“But you can’t put yourself in that position. You’ve got to make plays before that, so that it doesn’t come down to the end. It was a tough game. They’re a good team. I thought we battled and played hard. We just didn’t see some results. I told them that I’m sorry that I couldn’t lead them to where they needed to be. And it hurts.”

Senior Kevin Lalin had 13 points and senior Jay Byron had 11 points to pace the Jaguars (10-3, 5-1 AAC).

“We know what Jay’s going to do,” Wylie said. “He’s going to give us good minutes. He’s going to look for that ball on defense and he’s going to attack on offense. And Kevin, in my opinion, is the best defender in the conference. And Kevin’s not a point guard, but with a couple of players down, he’s been playing point guard for us the last couple of games. And he just keeps getting better every game at a job he’s never done or isn’t comfortable with. But you can just see him get more and more comfortable and get used to calling the offense and attacking the rim and making plays for others.”

B.J. Bowser had nine points. Corshon Stewart had eight points. Desmond Jordan had three points. Nehemiah McDonald, Omari Taylor and Jordan Salone had two points apiece.

Senior Nate McKoy had 14 points and five rebounds and senior Jalen Evans had 13 points and six rebounds to lead the Hawks (9-6, 1-5).

“(Evans) is a player,” Morrison said. “A referee even commented on him being a heck of a player. I told him that he’s an all-around. He plays shortstop and quarterback and he’s an all-around athlete and player. He was tough. He was making some plays.”

Quashaun Williams had eight points and six rebounds. Jaleel White and Will Heard had three points apiece. Ahmad Morris had two points and five rebounds. Sabine Wheeler had two points. J.J. Cowan had one point.

The game remained close throughout, with Overhills leading 13-11 at the end of the first quarter and Triton leading 28-22 at halftime and 36-34 at the end of the third quarter.

With Triton holding a 41-38 lead midway through the fourth, Overhills scored six unanswered points to take a 44-41 lead. It was the last time the lead changed hands, as the Jaguars were able to fend off all of the Hawks’ attempts to rally down the stretch.

Defense powered Triton to a 49-25 win against Overhills in the girls game.

“Defense wins championships,” said Triton girls coach Richard Rozier. “I keep preaching it and they’re buying in. I give the girls credit. The buy-in is there. We’re doing it on the defensive end. All of the shots aren’t going to fall. We saw that in the Tip-Off tournament (where Overhills beat Triton 55-37 on Nov. 22). You can get outscored, but if you play defense and you can hold your opponents under their average, most of the time you’re going to come out on top.”

Three players scored in double figures for the Hawks (11-4, 3-3). Freshman Nashara Watlington-McNeill had 13 points and six rebounds, sophomore Unique Cooke had a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore JaNiah Smith had 11 points and four steals.

“We’ve been playing great team basketball, so that’s important,” Rozier said. “The way we move the ball, we have different leading scorers every night. I feel very comfortable with that. It may mess up the awards season later on, but winning, I’m good with having three leading scorers every night.”

Rozer said senior Abby Hood was also a key player for Triton. She tallied six points, 11 rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

“She guarded their leading scorer the whole game and was probably our leading rebounder,” Rozier said. “Abby is just sensational. She has been since I got here. She’s the glue. We go the way she goes.”

A’Shari Watlington had five points and five steals. Mahogany McKoy had two points. Jakiya Leach had six rebounds.

Junior Sadyia Davis and freshmen Nahjia Allen and Anaiah McGee had six points apiece, junior Eva McRae had five points and senior Precious Harris had two points for the Jaguars (7-5, 3-3).

Triton outscored Overhills 10-7 in the first quarter, 16-4 in the second, 12-4 in the third and 11-10 in the fourth.

Both schools wrap up the first half of conference play on Tuesday. Overhills is at home against Pine Forest and Triton travels to county rival Harnett Central.

“I told the kids, ‘It’s real simple. We’ve just got to win,’” Wylie said. “If we win every game, we’re conference champs. That was one of our goals at the start of the season, so we want to come out and put another banner up in the gym. And we’re in a position where we control our own destiny.”