ROXBORO–In Roxboro, frantic is a way of life on the basketball court.
Every tipped loose ball can lead to an ally-top in transition, which always triggers a gargantuan roar from the stands that are packed on Friday nights. It’s a style of play that keeps the fans coming to Rockets Gymnasium and something that a young Orange squad hasn’t caught up with yet.
Person, playing without injured center Lamont Johnson, overcame foul trouble to leading scorer Julian Crawley to defeat Orange 91-77 on Friday night in Roxboro, its third straight win over the Panthers. It was a battle of attrition as the Rockets had enough firepower to overcome the loss of Crawley, who picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. Sophomore Lance Clarke led the Rockets with 30 points.
The Panthers had four players foul out. Freshman Coleman Cloer, who played most of the second half with four fouls, led Orange with a season-best 35 points. Another freshman, Kai Wade, added 20 points despite being disqualified late in the fourth quarter.
In his first 17 games as a varsity player, Cloer has scored in double-figures in 16 of them. He has eight 20-point games, including a 25-point outing agains Cedar Ridge last Tuesday.
Person (12-2, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) won just days after being blown out by 77-45 by Northwood in Pittsboro.
The Panthers (11-6, 2-2) haven’t won in Roxboro since December 15, 2014.
While the Panthers forced 18 turnovers, including four steals from Darius Corbett, they shot only 6-of-30 from 3-point range. The Panthers had a 6-4 lead following a 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter, but couldn’t consistently knock down shots from outside. Person shot 11-of-13 from the field in the opening quarter, led by 12 points from Crawley. After Crawley was forced to the bench early in the second quarter, sophomore Lance Clarke picked up the void with nine points in the second quarter.
Orange still had a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter after Corbett stripped the ball away from Isaiah Smith and scored on a lay-in to cut Person’s lead to 47-46. After Orange missed a 3-pointer, Clarke sank two free throws, which was the theme of the second half. That triggered a 14-1 Person run that kept the lead in double figures for the balance of the game.
Person went 29-of-47 from the foul line, mainly because the Panthers continued to foul late. Orange shot 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Orange 60, Person 25
Another double-double from Sophomore Evelyn George led the Orange women’s basketball team over Person 60-25 in Roxboro on Friday night. Orange (9-8, 2-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) has won five in a row.
George finished with 20 points and ten rebounds. George has had five games this year where she’s finished with double-figure rebounds. She had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-47 win over Walter Williams in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational on December 27.
Orange outscored Person 18-0 in the first quarter. Sophomore Addie Atkins had two 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Atkins finished with eight points.
Senior Jada Reed scored 12 points, her seventh game in double-figures scoring in the last eight contests. Reed’s season-high of 18 points came against Franklinton on November 29.
Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Guilford tournament, finished with six points and eight rebounds.
Mekayla Bradsher led Person with nine points. Orange, who had nine players in uniform, had eight players score. Sophomore Maura McMurtry had six points off the bench.
The Lady Panthers five game winning streak is its longest since the opening of the pandemic season of 2020, when they reeled off five straight victories. The Lady Panthers, who were the only team in Hillsborough to make the 3A State Playoffs last year, are currently ranked #19 in the MaxPreps 3A East Region.