With the return of four players to the lineup after the sudden conclusion of football season, the Orange boys basketball team found its footing with two victories over the course of 48 hours.
The Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 76-58 in Mebane on Wednesday night behind 30 points from Connor Crabtree. Senior Logan Vosburg added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, along with 13 rebounds.
This week marked the varsity debuts of Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Eli Haitchcock, and Kendall Whitted, all of whom reported directly to basketball practice on Monday after Orange’s football season ended last week against Havelock. Senior Keshawn Thompson, who came off the bench last season, also is back.
Despite the return of upperclassmen, freshman Joey McMullin continued a strong start to his Orange career. In only his third game, McMullin finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting on the field, including 3-of-4 from three point range.
With the win over the Patriots, Orange evened its record to 2-2. The opening two losses came two weeks ago during the HighSchoolOt.com Season Tip-Off at Millbrook High School, where the Panthers played with only ten players, three of whom were freshman.
Orange returns to Millbrook on Saturday to face the Wildcats in the 3rd Annual Millbrook Winter Showcase. Tipoff is at 6PM in Raleigh.