It was an Orange debut to remember for Mekai Collins. The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf scored 35 points on Wednesday night as Orange defeated Union Pines 84-78 at Panther Gymnasium. During the summer, Collins transferred to Orange from Cedar Ridge. It was a night of transformation for Orange. New Orange head coach Derryl Britt won his first game on the Panther sidelines. It was the first time since 1997 that Greg Motley wasn’t the head coach of the Orange men’s basketball team. Joey McMullin, in his third year as a varsity starter, added 14 points, while sophomore Jason Franklin added ten points. In his first varsity game, sophomore Kyle Stanley also scored ten. It was an impressive effort by Orange considering two of its most experienced players, Mekai Holt and Zyon Pettiford, was mired in foul trouble for much of the game. Coming off a 9-16 season, the Panthers will play three games in its opening week of the season. Orange will travel to Northern Guilford on Thursday night. The Nighthawks defeated the Panthers in the 2017 3A NCHSAA State Quarterfinals. Then on Friday night, Orange travels to Granville Central in Creedmoor. All of these games can be heard here on Hillsboroughsports.com, so feel free to listen in.