The first burst of severe weather this winter wasn’t a snowstorm. It was thunderstorms and high winds, which has led the Cedar Ridge and Orange basketball teams to reschedule its final home games.
Cedar Ridge’s game against East Chapel Hill, originally scheduled for Friday night, was rescheduled for Monday night at 7. The Red Wolves’ women’s basketball team will play at East Chapel Hill on Monday night at 7.
The Orange men’s basketball team not only had to adjust its game against Chapel Hill on Friday, but also its final home game of the year against Southern Durham.
The Panthers’ men’s basketball team will face Chapel Hill on Monday night at home at 7:30. The Orange women’s basketball team travels to Chapel Hill on Monday night.
Originally, the Orange men had its senior night game scheduled against Southern Durham on Tuesday. Now, the game has been rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7:30. The Orange women will also travel to Southern Durham on Wednesday.
The Orange men will conclude its regular season with a road trip to Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium next Thursday. The Orange women will have its senior night game against the Lady Knights next Thursday, which will be the final home game for Lady Panthers senior Grace Andrews.
The Big 8 Conference Tournament will start February 17. All four basketball teams will be on the road for their respective first round games.
Orange’s Senior Night game will be the final home game for seniors Joey McMullin and Tucker Miller. It will be an unusual ending to an awkward season for McMullin, in particular. On the opposite sideline will be Southern coach Greg Motley, who was McMullin’s coach for his first two seasons at Orange. Motley, who coached Orange for 20 years before resigning at the end of the 2017-18 season, still teaches Economics at Orange and even has several current Panther players as his students. McMullen was one of them earlier this year, as was Orange’s starting point guard J.J. Thompson.
Of the four local teams, the Orange women have the best chance to make the state playoffs, despite a rash of injuries and losing four starters from last year. The Lady Panthers nearly turned the Big 8 Conference standings over on its ear on Thursday night, carrying league leader Northwood to overtime. The Chargers came away with a 51-44 victory, but only after Orange missed two free throws with three seconds remaining with the score tied at 44-44.
The Lady Panthers are 10-9, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.
While the Cedar Ridge men held its senior night ceremonies against Orange on January 31, Monday’s game against East Chapel Hill will be the official final home game for Mekai Collins, K.J. Barnes, Andrew Altieri, Jai’kel Gibbs, Zach Holmes, Grayson Ramos and Cameron Hartley. With a win, the Red Wolves would have its first three-game winning streak since early December 2016.
The Cedar Ridge men will conclude its regular season with a road trip to Southern Durham on Thursday.
For the third time in four years, there’s a chance the same school could win both the Big 8 men’s and women’s regular season championships. In the men’s standings, Northwood is 10-1, one game ahead of Southern Durham and Vance County. The Chargers end the year with road trips to Northern Durham and East Chapel Hill before finishing with a home game against Vance County. The Chargers defeated the Vipers 72-55 on January 21. Northwood and Southern Durham split their season series.
After escaping against Orange, Northwood leads the Big 8 Conference with a 10-1 record. Southern Durham, who lost both games to the Chargers, is 9-2.
Orange swept both basketball races in 2016-17. Hillside did it last year.
Schedule for the final week of the regular season:
Cedar Ridge men:
Monday: vs. East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough at 7.
Tuesday: at Vance County
Thursday: at Southern Durham
Cedar Ridge women:
Monday: at East Chapel Hill
Tuesday: at Vance County
Thursday: at Southern Durham
Orange men:
Monday: vs. Chapel Hill at 7:30
Wednesday: vs. Southern Durham 7:30
Thursday: at Northern Durham 7:30
Orange women:
Monday: at Chapel Hill
Wednesday: at Southern Durham
Thursday: vs. Northern Durham