HC takes conference wins over Western Harnett

by | Jan 19, 2019 | Harnett Central, Western Harnett

Harnett Central’s Lyanah Molyneaux (11) scores on Friday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Harnett Central improved to 2-0 in both girls and boys Tri-County Six 3-A Conference varsity basketball play Friday with wins over visiting county rival Western Harnett.

Harnett Central rallied in the second half of the girls game to take a 38-29 win over Western Harnett.

“I don’t even know what to say about the first half other than we just didn’t show up to play,” said Harnett Central girls coach Chelsey Cabe. “When we do what we’re supposed to do on defense, it’s a totally different team.”

Despite the loss, Western Harnett girls coach Matthew Smith felt his team was continuing to move in the right direction.

“I am so proud of these girls because we’ve had four great practices (this week),” Smith. “They worked their tails off. I know the score’s not what we wanted it to be, but that being said, I think we may have turned another leaf. I think we may have decided that we have the pride that we want to do better. We want to do what we know we can do. There’s nowhere to go but up. We’re 0-2 in the conference, but I think right now anybody that’s going to come to Western Harnett will say, ‘We know these girls are going to play tough.’”

A pair of sophomores led the Trojans (9-3, 2-0 TCSC). Brittany Mills had 13 points and three steals and Syniah McMiller had nine points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.

Cabe was pleased with the efforts she received from sophomore Lyanah Molyneaux, with two points and three assists, and senior Keanna Womble, with six rebounds.

“Lya Molyneaux, I thought went in and did great,” Cabe said. “Playing three small. Running three guards in that mountain cat (formation) and frustrating them. And Keanna Womble didn’t score one point, but she had some huge rebounds and defensive things that she did when she went in.”

Cabe also thought junior Madeline Langdon provided a much-needed boost for Central off of the bench in the second quarter. Langdon had four points.

“What I loved about Maddie when she went in, in the first half, is she was so aggressive,” Cabe said. “She was not scared to take it inside and put up a shot. She wasn’t scared to jump after a ball. She wasn’t scared to dribble. And I think that’s great.”

Lyndsey Brewer had four points and six steals. Marcayla Jones had three points. Fayth Brown had two points and five rebounds. Zykia Matthews had one point.

Senior Lahaina “LaLa” Bell had 15 points to pace the Eagles (7-8, 0-2).

Makyia Mackey had five points. Taija Pruitt had four points. Kayling Matson and Kaile McLean had two points apiece. Javona Farrington had one point.

Western came out strong in the first half, outscoring Central 11-7 in the first quarter and 7-5 in the second to lead 18-12 at halftime.

But with the Eagles leading 21-14 in the third quarter, a McMiller score started a 14-3 run to give the Trojans a 28-24 lead at the end of the third.

After Mackey scored to cut the lead to two early in the fourth, back-to-back scores from Brewer and a score from McMiller pushed the lead to eight. The lead never fell below six the rest of the way.

One key to Central’s second-half rally was defense, particularly holding Bell to just three points in the second half.

“That shows Brittany,” Cabe said. “That shows how hard she worked in the second half.”

Western Harnett’s Taija Pruitt (32) gets a basket against Central.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Harnett Central’s Syniah McMiller (40) blocks a shot.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Central boys pull away

Harnett Central pulled away late against Western Harnett to take a 69-59 win in a hotly contested boys game.

“I thought we played hard,” said Harnett Central boys coach Will Gage. “That’s one thing we talked about. I didn’t think we had done a very good job contesting threes the last couple of games. I don’t know how many they ended up hitting, but I thought we did a better job at least attempting to stop them. I thought in the second half, despite how many blocks (Tobias Dillard) got in the first, our guys continued to take it to the basket. I thought they did a good job looking for each other. I thought Tre (Williams) made some huge shots in the first half and I thought Anthony Tomlinson had a heck of a second half.”

Western Harnett boys coach Seth Womble praised the game’s atmosphere and said Western was unable to consistently have an answer for Central’s runs.

“Really loud gym. I loved the environment,” Womble said. “It reminds me of the old days of Western Harnett-Harnett Central. They’d go on runs and we try to answer a run with a stop and a score. We didn’t necessarily get the stops and when we did get the stops, we didn’t come down and get the bucket.”

Senior Chase Mullins had 19 points and juniors Trevonne Williams and Anthony Tomlinson had 18 points apiece to lead the Trojans (6-6, 2-0) and Kasey Perkins had eight points and Justin Perkins had six points.

The Eagles (5-10, 1-1) were led by a trio of seniors. Anthony Brewington, playing through illness, had 24 points and Tre’ Richardson and Tobias Dillard had 10 points apiece.

“I think (Brewington) came down with a virus last night, so we didn’t even know if he was going to play,” Womble said. “I talked to him before the game and I said, ‘Look, I’m going to start you. If you feel good, keep playing. If you feel like you need a sub, ask me for a sub and I’ll sub you out.’ A physical game is what he loves. If it’s a physical game, he shines through.”

Wesley Lassiter had nine points, Tyrese Jones had four points and Kahlil McLean had two points.

At the end of a back-and-forth first quarter, Western held a 14-11 lead. But Central rallied in the second with a 17-9 run to take a 28-23 lead at the half.

After Western outscored Central 15-14 in the third to cut the lead to 42-38, McLean scored early in the fourth to make it a two-point game.

With the Trojans holding a 48-46 lead midway through the fourth, Tomlinson scored to spark a 10-0 run to push the lead to 12.

“In the fourth quarter, every basket both ways was huge,” Gage said. “We just stressed that, ‘Whether we make it or not, let’s try and take good shots. Even if they don’t go in, make them work on their end and let’s take good shots at our end.’”

The Eagles continued to battle down the stretch, but could not consistently get the defensive stops they needed or the needed shots to fall.

“We were 1-for-11 in the first half and 5-for-11 in the second half on threes, but that’s still not a great percentage,” Womble said. “We’re an inside-out team and I felt like we weren’t going inside enough. We were getting to the paint and kicking out, but the shots didn’t fall. That’s basketball.”

Harnett Central is at home against conference foe Southern Lee and Western Harnett travels to conference and county rival Triton on Tuesday night.

Harnett Central’s Trevonne Williams (4) shoots a 3-pointer.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Kasey Perkins scores for the Trojans against WH.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Harnett Central’s Anthony Tomlinson (5) scores inside.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Anthony Brewington (4) goes up to score for the Eagles.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

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