Hawk boys finish strong to top Central, 43-34

by John Lucas | Feb 13, 2019 | Articles, Triton

Derreon Burnett paced Triton offensively on Tuesday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

A 10-1 fourth quarter made the difference as Triton’s varsity boys basketball team took a 43-34 win over visiting Harnett County and Tri-County Six 3-A Conference rival Harnett Central Tuesday.

“Their kid, Tre (Williams) hit a three, I think it was very similar to that at their place, to end the half and man, it was just like déjà vu,” said Triton coach T.J. Morrison. “A little nerve wracking. You think you’ve played fairly well defensively and then give up one like that. It’s not a good way to go into the half.

“But we came back out and defensively were a little better. Offense was not pretty, but we made a few plays. But defensively, I’m pretty proud of the effort. It was just one point in the fourth quarter that we gave up.”

Harnett Central boys coach Will Gage cited poor second half shooting as a major factor.

“I think the second half as a whole, we couldn’t buy a basket,” Gage said. “We just got outplayed at both ends. The team that won deserved to win. We just got outplayed. We missed shots and never got second chances at it. We got outhustled on the offensive and defensive boards. We just took ourselves out of having an opportunity.”

Senior Derreon Burnett had 19 points and five rebounds and junior Travion Sanders had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hawks (10-13, 3-6 TCSC).

Morrison was pleased with the boost junior Josiah Lett provided off of the bench, with two points and five rebounds.

“He got us some big rebounds, got a block or two and he can do that,” Morrison said. “He does bring some energy and make some plays on the defensive end and rebounding.”

Colby Parker and Emari White had six points apiece.

The Trojans (11-10, 6-3) were paced by junior Trevonne Williams, with 10 points.

Anthony Tomlinson had seven points. Jaden Meadows had six points. Chase Mullins and Justin Perkins had four points apiece. Kasey Perkins had three points.

A back-and-forth first half ended with a Williams three at the buzzer to give Central a 24-23 lead.

Triton outscored Central 10-9 in the third quarter to tie the game 33-33.

Early in the fourth, Kasey Perkins was called for fouling Parker in the act of shooting and in the aftermath, Parker was called for a technical foul. After Parker made both of his free throws, Kasey Perkins made just one of his two. That would prove to be Central’s only point in the fourth quarter, as Triton ended the game with eight unanswered.

“They’ve got some shooters and some kids that can make plays,” Morrison said. “We were fortunate that they missed and fortunate that we were able to get a lot of rebounds. That’s been a weakness for us is not just getting that stop, but also getting that rebound and not giving them a second or third shot.”

Both teams end the regular season with home conference games for Senior Night on Friday. Triton takes on Lee County and Harnett Central plays Union Pines.