Comeback wins don’t come much more special than what the Orange men’s basketball team pulled off on Thursday night. Trailing 28-9 in the second quarter, the Panthers shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter to stun Person 67-65 in Roxboro. The Rockets came into the game with a 13-0 record. Senior Xandrell Pennix scored 19 points, scoring ten points in the third quarter to lead the comeback. Another senior, Michael Clark, added eleven points, including two 3-pointers in the third quarter. Clark also had a lay-in with 12 seconds remaining off a gorgeous pass from Hector Garrido that put the game away. It was a crucial win for Orange, who tied the Rockets for first place in the Central Conference. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a huge 3-pointer after Person took a 63-60 lead midway through the fourth quarter. From there, the Rockets were held scoreless in the final 3:50 of regulation until the very end. Orange sophomore Kamal Smith scored a career-high nine points, all of 3-pointers. Two of them came in the third quarter. Pennix is now at 894 career points as he plays the final games of his Orange career. Orange will continued a 10-game road swing when they travel to Graham to face Southern Alamance on Tuesday night.
