The Orange men’s basketball team have a two-game lead against Eastern Alamance and Southern Alamance in the Central Conference. The Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 75-67 on Tuesday night. Sophomore point guard Kai Wade had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists as the Panthers won its fifth straight. It was a season-high in scoring for Wade, who has had double-digit points in eleven of the 14 games he has played this year. Wade had the game-tying jumper with eight seconds remaining against Hillside in the season-opener on November 17, which led to the game-winning shot by Malachi Poole. Coleman Cloer led the Panthers with 27 points against Eastern Alamance. It was Orange’s fourth straight win over the Eagles. Orange is searching for its first conference championship in men’s basketball since the 2016-2017 season. Wade has helped direct the Orange offense since he started as a freshman last year. The Panthers will start the second half of its Central Conference slate against Western Alamance in Elon on Friday night. The Panthers face a stiff challenge in the final three weeks of the regular season. Of its final six regular season games, five of them will be on the road. Next week, the Panthers will travel to Walter Williams, then drive across town to take on Cedar Ridge inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.