From humble beginnings as a junior varsity call-up midway through his freshman season to being Orange’s latest 1,000 point career scorer, Xandrell Pennix is set to play at the next level.
Pennix announced his commitment to Louisburg College over the weekend. The Hurricanes are members of Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Pennix, who graduated in June, was Orange’s most consistent 3-point shooter during its rise to the top of the Central Conference in the 2023-2024 season. Playing alongside forward Coleman Cloer, point guard Kai Wade, forward Freddie Sneed and center Mason Robinson, Pennix averaged 12.8 points per game in his junior year as Orange won the Central Conference regular season championship. They would go on to defeat Person and Eastern Alamance to take the 2024 Central Conference Tournament, Orange’s first tournament title since 2016.
“I’ve had kids go on to play to all levels of college basketball,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “They’ve gone to Division I schools. They’ve attended MIT and other prestigious levels of higher learning but to see the return on investment for time and effort put in by Xandrell and his team of supporters is truly rewarding.”
In February, Pennix saved his best for last. In the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs, Pennix scored a season-high 23 points as Orange defeated C.B Aycock 69-66 in Hillsborough. It was his final home game.
The 23-point effort was one short of his career high of 24 points, which he registered against Chapel Hill on December 8, 2023.
Pennix was called up from the junior varsity team and immediately started seeing regular minutes in his freshman season of 2022. In just his fourth varsity game, he scored 13 points against Walter Williams. He would score 15 points in his first game against Cedar Ridge, a 57-53 Panther win where he hit four 3-pointers.
In his sophomore season, Pennix was joined by Cloer, Wade, and Robinson, which would pave the way for Orange’s most talented teams since they reached the 3A State Quarterfinals in the 2016-17 season during the Connor Crabtree era. Pennix would serve as the steady wing option whenever Wade or Cloer drove inside. Orange would reap the benefits by hitting 64 3-pointers and averaging 9.4 points per game. In a upset win at Franklinton early in the season, Pennix scored 18 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. On December 21, 2022, Pennix scored 19 points in a 80-63 victory over Southern Alamance.
“It’s been an amazing experience watching the maturation and progression of this kid,” Britt said. “He will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Orange returned to championship form in Pennix’s junior season. Cloer, who won a state championship at the independent level with Caldwell Academy last winter, missed the first nine games after an injury days before the first game. Pennix was forced to take an increased role in the offense and stepped up in the season-opener by scoring 12 points in a 69-66 win over Hillside. Pennix assisted on the game-winning 3-pointer scored by Malachi Poole at the buzzer during a frantic final sequence where Sneed stole the ball on Hillside’s inbounds pass.
It was Orange’s first win over Hillside in 13 years.
Pennix scored 15 points in a win over Eastern Alamance on February 16, 2024, which sewed up the regular season championship. In the opening round of the state playoffs, Pennix scored a season-high 21 points in a victory over Currituck County, Orange’s first state playoff victory since they defeated Triton in 2017.
Last season, Pennix surpassed 1,000 career points during the Central Conference Tournament against Southern Alamance. Early in the third quarter, Pennix hit a falling jumper to surpass the milestone. In his senior season, Pennix averaged a career-best 13.9 points. He scored 19 points in a wild 67-65 win at Person on January 9, a game where the Rockets roared out to a 28-9 lead. Pennix, in arguably his greatest performance, helped Orange shoot 11-of-14 in the third quarter as the Panthers handed the Rockets its first loss of the season.
