Photo by Jacques Morin
For most of the way, it felt like Cedar Ridge’s night.
Trying to end a 10-game losing streak to crosstown rival Orange, the Red Wolves had a dream start.
Cedar Ridge sophomore James Faubert surpassed his career-high in the first half with 15 points as the Red Wolves shot 6-of-9 from the field in the opening quarter. After Faubert’s 15th and final point of the game with 48 seconds remaining in the first half, the Red Wolves had doubled up Orange 28-14.
The Panthers, playing its third game in four days with eight players suited up each night, couldn’t find its shooting touch early, but relied on its two main contributors to rally down the stretch.
Junior Jalen Crayton scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half while guard Hector Garrido added 15 points as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 45-36 on January 23 inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.
Orange (6-12, 5-2 in the Big 7 Conference) still hasn’t lost to Cedar Ridge since February 5, 2021. Even in Cedar Ridge’s last win in the series, very few people saw it. It happened inside Panther Gymnasium during the COVID-19 pandemic, back when fans were largely barred from attending. It restricted attendance to a few players families and coaches.
Cedar Ridge (2-14, 0-6) didn’t get a field goal in the final 11:24 of regulation.
The Red Wolves led 28-16 at halftime, but Crayton dominated the second half on both ends of the floor. He finished with 16 rebounds and six blocks. It was his eleventh double-double of the season.
In the second half, Orange outrebounded the Red Wolves 25-10. Crayton opened the second half with a lay-in on Orange’s first possession of the third quarter, which set the tone the rest of the way. After A.J. Seymore, who finished with six points and seven rebounds, scored on a 15-foot jumper to put the Red Wolves back ahead 30-18, Garrido scored on a stickback shot after his initial attempt was blocked by Red Wolf center Jack Kelsey.
Cedar Ridge senior Kevin Ntim fired in a line drive with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter to increase the Red Wolf lead to 32-22.
Orange finished the quarter on a 13-2 run. Seymore’s running one-hander with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter put Cedar Ridge ahead 34-25 It would be the final Red Wolf field goal of the game.
Orange closed the quarter with a flourish. After Crayton sank two free throws, Garrido was fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound and split two free throws. Orange’s Logan Edwards picked off a pass from Seymore and found Crayton, who scored off a lay-in to cut the Red Wolf lead to 34-30.
With time running out in the third quarter, Orange freshman Jakob Silinski missed a 3-pointer, but the rebound bounced back to the top of the key. Silinski, standing in the same spot, reloaded from outside the arc and found nothing but net, giving Orange its first lead at 35-34 with 19 seconds left in the quarter.
Orange scored ten consecutive points to start the fourth quarter. Garrido found junior Weston Cheek cutting across the lane for a six-foot jumper. Garrido grabbed the rebound on the subsequent Cedar Ridge miss and darted down the lane for a left-hand finish that spun around the rim and fell through. Cedar Ridge shot 0-of-12 from the field in the fourth quarter. It’s only points came off free throws from Ntim with 1:42 remaining, but by that point Orange had put the game away.
The first half drifted away with an unusual flow. Orange wasn’t called for a foul the entire half, but Cedar Ridge’s offense was in a flow like never before this season. The Red Wolves jumped out to an 11-3 lead with Seymore draining a 3-pointer and Faubert scoring his opening points on a lay-in. Tripp Beasley sank a 3-pointer to increase the Red Wolf lead to 14-3. Cheek scored a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining in the opening quarter to give Orange a burst going into the second quarter.
Faubert opened the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers. Karter Wilson added a lay-in as the Red Wolves led 22-6.
