Cedar Ridge High School

The surprise snowfall in northern Orange County led to yet another snow day at Orange and Cedar Ridge on Tuesday. It also will send the local basketball teams to play a lot of games in a short amount of time.

Cedar Ridge will play three tripleheader in three days, starting Thursday night. The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves game at Northern Durham, set for Tuesday, was moved to Thursday night. Cedar Ridge’s scheduled nonconference game against Sanderson, scheduled for Wednesday, has been canceled.

On Friday night, the Red Wolves will host East Chapel Hill. Then on Saturday, they host Northwood. It stands to be a crucial stretch for the Cedar Ridge girls team, coming off a topsy turvy week where they defeated Chapel Hill and Southern Durham, only to lose to Orange at home. The Red Wolves are 5-3 in the Big 8, tied in the loss column with Chapel Hill. After the loss to Orange, CRHS is two games behind Southern Durham and Hillside for 1st.

Orange will play three doubleheaders in three days. They start with a road game against Northern Durham on Wednesday night. Orange travels to Northwood on Thursday. That game was supposed to be played on Tuesday, but was moved due to the snow. On Friday, the Panthers host Chapel Hill.

Cedar Ridge Coach Clay Jones sat back looking at the scorebook, sitting on a table while sipping a Diet Coke with chuckling with his assistants.

“We were due,” said Jones after Cedar Ridge had defeated its crosstown rival Orange for the first time since February 2015. But he wasn’t talking about the rivalry against their crosstown rivals.

Cedar Ridge is now 4-13, but it could easily be better. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves shot 67% from the field, led Southern Durham 62-49 going into the fourth quarter, only to watch the Spartans roar back and win 73-72.

Two Fridays ago, Hillside edged the Red Wolves 60–59. In both games, Cedar Ridge had a shot to. Win at the end, but fell short. Though they started 1-10 and Jones privately admitted to reporters in November that they were looking up at everyone else in the Big 8, his team has never stopped fighting.

That was crystal clear on Friday night. Though the Panthers didn’t have guards Mekai Holt (suffered an injured foot against Hillside) and Mitch Portman (suffered a concussion against Hillside when he took a knee to the head), they were still the same team that had defeated the Red Wolves seven straight times.

Cedar Ridge came away with a convincing 55-38 victory. Terrence Crawford added 13 points while John Vaughn added eleven.

Without Portman and Holt, Orange Coach Greg Motley essentially started guard Joey McMillian with three forwards and center Kendall Whitted. Ryan Sellers, usually a power forward, was slotted as a point guard. Marquis Phelps had a hot hand early, showing surprising range when he knocked down two jumpers as Orange bolted out to a 12-5 lead following a three-pointer from McMullin.

In the second quarter, Crawford took over the game with a three-pointer, followed by another trey from Mekai Collins, who finished with a game-high 20 points. The Cedar Ridge defense held Orange to six points in the second quarter. To end the first half, Red Wolf reserve Braxton Mergenthal threw up a reverse layup where he wasn’t even looking at the basket that fell through the next at the buzzer, giving Cedar Ridge a 23-18 halftime lead and sending the Red Wolves student section into a frenzy.

Collins and Crawford opened the third quarter with consecutive three-pointers to push the Red Wolves advantage to 29-18, and it stayed in double digits the rest of the way.

Cedar Ridge (4-13, 2–6 in the Big 8) will return to action at Northern Durham on Tuesday. Orange. (8-10, 3-5), which has lost five of its last six, travels to Northwood on Tuesday.

ORANGE: Marquis Phelps 5, Ryan Sellers 10, Kendall Whitted 2, Morgan Paschall 5, Joey McMullin 8, Eli Haithcock 1, Matt Atherton 5, Zion Pettiford 2.

CEDAR RIDGE: Khalil Barnett 9, Terrence Crawford 13, John Vaughn 11, Mekai Collins 20, Braxton Mergenthal 2.

It took nearly three years, but Mekai Collins finally got his win over Orange on Friday night. Collins scored 20 points as the Red Wolves pulled away to beat their crosstown rivals 55-38. Collins scored 15 points in the second half, continuing a strong week. On Wednesday, Collins scored 16 points in a 73-72 loss to Southern Durham, a game where the Red Wolves shot 67% from the field.

February 13, 2015. That was the last time Cedar Ridge had beaten Orange in boys basketball. But that dry spell came to an end in convincing fashion on Friday night as the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 55-38 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Senior forward John Vaughn scored eleven points, including seven in the third quarter when the Red Wolves pushed its lead to 18 points. Cedar Ridge will try to continue the momentum on Tuesday when they face Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium.

Despite trailing for most of the game, the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team handed Southern Durham its first league loss and made the Big 8 race all the more interesting in one night.

Madison Wardlow scored 16 points while Yolanda Simpson added 13 points and eleven rebounds as the Red Wolves defeated the Spartans 49-43 on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The game, which was originally scheduled for three weeks ago, was the second game in two nights for the Red Wolves, who won at Chapel Hill Tuesday.

Southern led 38-27, its largest of the game, after a stip steal by Jonisha McDaniel with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wardlow started the comeback with by hitting three free throws on consecutive possessions. Wardlow played the final 5:30 with four fouls.

Logan Woody scored on a driving layup to narrow Southern’s lead to 38-32. Woody sank two free throws on the next CRHS possession with 4:00 left.

Wardlow took a transition pass from Woody to score on a layup, shrinking Southern’s lead to 38-36. Ephraim sank a 15-foot jumper to end the Cedar Ridge rally with 3:12 left.

That’s when the Red Wolves played three of its best minutes of the season. Taylin Jean started by splitting a pair from the foul line, but Simpson grabbed the rebound and was fouled, leading to two more free throws to make it a 40-39 game.

Wardlow stripped the ball from J-Naya Ephraim on the next possession and was fouled hard in transition with 2:18 left. The referees called an intentional foul on Ephraim, and a technical foul was called on Southern’s Amiyah Ingram.

Wardlow sank one of the two free throws to tie the game, and Simpson knocked down both of the technical free throws to give Cedar Ridge its first lead of the game at 42-40 with 2:18 remaining.

Tori Dalehite rebound an airball and threw it the lengthy of the floor to Wardlow, who scored on a layup to give CRHS a 44-40 lead with 1:50 left.

Simpson scored on a layup to extend CRHS’ lead to 46-40, but Saeeda Muhammad scored on a three-point play after she was fouled by Jean, who fouled out. Muhammad’s free throw cut the Red Wolves’ lead in half. Tori Dalehite sank a crucial free throw down the salt the game away.

Even more impressively, Cedar Ridge won despite the return of Southern’s best player, Ephraim, who had missed the past month because of a sprained ankle suffered against Northwood on December 15th. Ephraim has committed to play college basketball at the University of Illinois.

Southern and Hillside are now tied for first place in the Big 8 at 6-1. Cedar Ridge, who will face Hillside next week, is 3rd at 5-2, tied in the loss column with Northwood, who is 3-2. Hillside defeated Chapel Hill on Wednesday

Midway through the third quarter, Southern led 29-23 before Wardlow scored seven consecutive Red Wolves points. McDaniel’s 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter put the Spartans ahead 31-27 going into the fourth quarter.

CEDAR RIDGE 49, SOUTHERN DURHAM 43

CEDAR RIDGE: Grace Davies 4, Logan Woody 11, Madison Wardlow 16, Yolanda Simpson 13, Taylin Jean 3, Catherine Coyle 2, Tori Dalehite 2.

Yolanda Simpson and Maddy Wardlow fueled a comeback win for the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team that has them on the verge of a return visit to the state playoffs.

Simpson posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Red Wolves bounced back from an early deficit to defeat Chapel Hill 56-42 at Tiger Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Playing the first of three games in four nights, the Red Wolves scorers came up huge down the stretch. Simpson’s 16 points led CRHS, but Logan Woody and Madison Wardlow each scored 14 points. Sophomore Tori Dalehite, playing a day after her father Danny celebrated a birthday, added six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Chapel Hill falls to 7-10, 4-3 in the Big 8.

Trailing 24-17 at the half, Cedar Ridge scored 39 points in the second half to improve to 10-6, 4-2 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves are now in third place in the Big 8 with a short turnaround. They host Southern Durham on Wednesday night at 6. The Spartans sit atop the Big 8 with a 6-0 record. Southern easily disposed of Northern Durham 64-29 on Monday night at Spartans Gymnasium.

In the boys game, Chapel Hill continued to thrive even without star guard Elijah Haynes. The Tigers maintained its undefeated record in Big 8 Conference play by trouncing Cedar Ridge 71-40. A.J. Thompson scored 12 points to lead the Tigers, who held Cedar Ridge to five points in the second AND fourth quarters. Khalil Hill added ten for the Tigers, who are now 7-0 in the Big 8, 12-5 overall.

Terrence Crawford paced Cedar Ridge with eleven points, the only Red Wolf in double figures. Khalil Barnett was held to six.

Cedar Ridge is now 3-12, 1-5 in the Big 8. They host Southern Durham in the second half of the doubleheader tonight. The girls play at 6, the boys at 7:30. The game can be heard here on HillsboroughSports.com.

Cedar Ridge boys basketball coach Clay Jones joked last week that, if his team defeated Hillside, he would have to beg his players to practice again for the rest of the season.

Perhaps he wasn’t joking. The Red Wolves, who have practiced one time since December 21st, came into the Hillside game on a two-game winning streak, its longest of the year. Then they nearly knocked off the Hornets, falling 60-59. Khalil Barnett led the Red Wolves with 19 points, while Mekai Collins added 15..

Damon Sanders paced Hillside with 20.

Trying to find a rhythm has been a struggle for both of Hillsborough’s basketball teams since the holidays.

For Orange, the Panthers started 2018 with a loss to Pinecrest on January 2nd, then didn’t play for a week because of winter weather. A game against Northwood was rescheduled for this past Saturday, forcing Orange to play three games in four days last week. Chapel Hill defeated the Panthers 59-55 at Tiger Gymnasium, despite the fact that Chapel Hill guard Elijah Haynes missed the game because of an ankle injury suffered during the South Granville Holiday Tournament. Mitch Portman led Orange with 17 points. The Tigers, who started the game on a 10-3 run, fended off a late Orange run with clutch free throws from Max Connelly, who finished with 16 points. A.J. Thompson added 15.

Chapel Hill defeated East Chapel Hill 59-45 on Tuesday night to remain atop the Big 8 at 8-0. Connolly paced CHHS with 18 points. Once again, Haynes didn’t play.

On Friday, Southern Durham handed Orange its fourth straight loss, 77-56. The Spartans, who led by 38 at one point, received 18 points from Jayvis Harvey. Orange was held to six points in the second quarter, was led by 18 points from sophomore Machai Holt, a career-high.

It was Orange’s first four-game losing streak since the 2012-13 season, a streak that ended on Saturday with a 43-37 victory over Northwood.

Orange is now 7-9, 3-3 in the Big 8. In the new look Big 8 Conference, the panthers are 4th in the league behind three teams that could be dangerous in the state tournament. Chapel Hill is undefeated, while Southern Durham is 4-1 and Northern Durham is 3-1.

With another winter storm anticipated Wednesday, the Panthers’ game scheduled at Northern Durham has already been postponed. Orange is slated to play at East Chapel Hill on Friday.

Cedar Ridge is supposed to host Northwood on Friday, but that game is at risk with the pending snowstorm. The Red Wolves already have had to postpone a game against Northern Durham from the first week fo 2018 that still hasn’t been rescheduled.

Whenever the Red Wolves resume its season, its clear for the most consistent offensive performers have been. On top of his 15 points against Hillside, Collins scored 20 in a 66-61 victory over Warren County, preceded by 17 points in the Red Wolves win over East Chapel Hill, which ended a nine-game losing streak.