Finally, Orange men’s basketball came home on Tuesday night.

For Freddy Sneed, it wasn’t just another home game. Along with his classmates Xandrell Pennix, Michael Clark and Ethan Ellis, it’s the start of a stretch run that started when they were freshmen, where times were hardly glamorous.

Following ten consecutive games on the road, Sneed scored a career-high 21 points as Orange defeated Walter Williams 72-54 at Panther Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Junior point guard Kai Wade added 21 points as the Panthers maintained its share of first place in the Central Conference, still tied in the loss column with Eastern Alamance.

Sneed played regularly with Pennix as freshmen in 2021-2022 on an Orange team that finished 8-17. Now, they’re gunning for a second straight Central Conference regular season championship.

It was Orange’s fourth wire-to-wire win in five games. As usual, the Panthers offense jump started its defense. The Panthers started the game on a 7-0 run, triggered by a 3-pointer from Wade. On the subsequent possession, Pennix poked the ball away from Williams’ Colby Elliott, then dumped the ball to Sneed for a breakaway lay-in.

Orange would increase the lead to 43-29 after two free throws by Wade in the second half, but the Bulldogs made a charge in the third quarter. Elliott drained three consecutive 3-pointers, followed by another shot from downtown by point guard Cavion Stokes. That reduced Orange’s lead to 47-41 with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

That would be the final 3-pointer for the Bulldogs. Wade made four free throws, followed by a 3-pointer from Clark from 26-feet, which he claimed was the deepest shot of his career. Orange would push its lead to 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Elliott led the Bulldogs with 28 points, the only Williams player in double figures.

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