It was a night of new faces for the Orange men’s basketball team in its season-opening 55-50 win over East Chapel Hill. Orange coach Darryl Britt started four players making their varsity debut, including three freshmen. Sophomore guard Xandrell Pinnix, in only his 14th varsity game, was the most experienced starter for the Panthers. Yet Orange came away with a victory against an East Chapel Hill team that won a conference championship only two years ago. In his varsity debut, Coleman Cloer had 17 points to lead all scorers. Pinnix finished with 14 points, all in the second half. With Orange leading 25-22 at halftime, Pinnix opened the second half with consecutive 3-pointers to push the Panthers lead to nine points. Another freshman, Kai Wade, had ten points. Junior center Ryan Honeycutt, also playing his first varsity game, had eight points as the Panthers captured its season opener for the first time since 2019. Orange will travel to Chapel Hill on Tuesday night for its final game before Thanksgiving break.