Amiyah Ware: Playing with the Division II North Greenville women’s basketball team, Amiyah Ware tied for the team lead with 15 points in the Trailblazers win over Georgia College 67-56 at Hayes Gymnasium in Tigerville, SC on Saturday. Ware shot 4-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. North Greenville has started the year 3-3. On November 20, North Greenville came back from eleven points down to defeat Johnson C. Smith 53-51. Ware finished with nine points. On Tuesday, Lees-McRae defeated the Trail Blazers 84-77. Ware scored nine points and also had one rebound and one steal. Through nine games, Ware leads the team with 11.2 points per game and is shooting 40% from 3-point range. After sitting out last season, Ware played in her first college game on November 14 against Augusta College in the Southeast Regional Conference Challenge at Christenberry Fieldhouse in Georgia. Ware played 20 minutes and scored 12 points, shooting 3-of-8 from the field. Augusta defeated North Greenville 76-58. Ware graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2024. She holds the Orange County record for most points scored in a game. In her junior season, Ware scored 54 points against Western Alamance on January 10, 2023. She broke a record that had stood since 1978.
Evelyn George: After graduating from Orange in June, George is already receiving minutes for the Division III Guilford College women’s basketball team. In the Quakers’ season-opening win over Vorhees University on November 12 at Ragan-Brown Field House in Greensboro, George played nine minutes. Last Wednesday, Guilford defeated Warren Wilson 79-61 at Devries Athletics Gymnasium in Swannanoa. George scored 12 points off the bench in 20 minutes and also grabbed seven rebounds in just her fourth college game. On November 17, Guilford edged Brevard College 72-70. George registered 15 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. She’s already filling the sixth woman role. In her second game, Guilford defeated Southern Virginia 80-71 at Knight Arena in Buena Vista, VA. George played 13 minutes and finished with six points off 3-of-4 shooting from the field. She also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists. Guilford is 4-0 and will face Greensboro College on Monday at First Horizon Coliseum. They will host Roanoke College in Greensboro on Wednesday.
Desean Motley: The former Orange High men’s basketball guard and quarterback earned his first win as the head coach of the Lees-McRae men’s basketball team on November 18. The Bobcats defeated Greensboro College 101-63 in Banner Elk. The Bobcats defeated Bluefield 88-78 on Saturday. They’re 2-3 overall. Motley is the son of Greg Motley, the winningest head coach in Orange men’s basketball history.
Roy Tesh: Former Orange Panther Roy Tesh has been nominated for the Broyles Award, which is designated for the best assistant coach in college football. Tesh has been the defensive line coach at East Carolina for the past seven years. Under Pirates head coach Blake Harrell, who officially took the reigns late in 2024, Tesh was promoted to defensive run game coordinator. Tesh graduated from Orange in the early 2000s. After playing at Greensboro College, he briefly played professionally with the Carolina Ghostriders of the American Indoor Football League. He started his coaching career at Greensboro College before moving on to Brevard College. He coached at Lenoir-Rhyne for six years. He moved on to the Citadel until reaching James Madison when the Dukes were still an FCS school. He spent two years with James Madison before he arrived in Greenville, where he was hired by former Pirates coach Mike Houston. East Carolina wraps up the regular season against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, then will prepare for its bowl game.
Payton Wilson: Facing the Chicago Bears at Solider Field on Sunday, Wilson finished with six tackles for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bears defeated Pittsburgh 31-28. The Steelers are 6-5 and are tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North. The Steelers will face the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.
