Orange junior Jason Franklin talks win over Chapel Hill
Jason Franklin scored 21 points in Orange’s 75-70 victory over Chapel Hill on Monday night. It was the ninth time this year that Franklin scored 15 points or more in a game. He hit all three of his 3-point attempts. Franklin’s season-high of 26 points came against Cedar Ridge on January 31. A junior who is in his third year at the varsity level, Franklin will join Orange in its regular season finale on Friday night against Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium. Orange will start play in the Big 8 Conference Tournament on Monday against an opponent to be determined. Franklin had his career-high of 36 points last year against Southern Durham.
McMullin’s 24 leads Orange past Chapel Hill 75-70
If Derryl Britt was exhausted while coaching Orange on Monday night, he didn’t show it.
He had every reason to be. By the time Orange’s game against Chapel Hill tipped off in Hillsborough, it had been well over 36 hours since he last slept. Ordinarily, he would have hit the sack around midnight on Sunday, but there was a more pressing matter.
His daughter Nakia went into labor pains.
“Daddy, I don’t know if we’re going to make it through the night,” Nakia said to her dad.
With her contractions growing more intense by the minute, Derryl rushed her daughter to Duke Regional Hospital.
“Her water hadn’t broken,” Britt said. “I stayed in the room until she started pushing. That’s when it was time for me to make my exit.”
By the next morning, Britt became a grandfather.
Braylen Naseim Britt was born at 6:41 Monday morning. He was named after former Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Braylon Edwards, though his first name isn’t spelled exactly the same way.
Britt had just enough time to get home around lunch before preparing for that night’s game against Chapel Hill, which is where a great day got better.
Joey McMullin, in his penultimate game in Hillsborough, scored 24 points as Orange defeated Chapel Hill 75-70. The Panthers (9-13, 3-9 in the Big 8 Conference) completed a season sweep of the Tigers and beat them for the third straight time.
Junior Jason Franklin added 21 as the Panthers climbed out of last place in the Big 8 Conference.
Chapel Hill (9-13, 4-8) tied the game late after a 3-pointer from Seth Morton. Orange came back when Jerec Thompson scored on a stickback shot off a missed jumper. McMullin knocked down key free throws down the stretch after the Panthers didn’t allow another field goal in the final five Tiger possessions.
As usual, Orange’s confidence grew early as they sank 3-pointers. McMullin went 4-from-10 from behind the arc. Franklin was 3-for-3, while Jerec Thompson knocked down a pair of treys.
Orange also finished 16-of-17 from the foul line to sew up only its second win since Christmas.
“Tonight, we executed as a team,” Britt said. “We executed the game plan. We stayed together as a unit. Nobody outside of the game plan. And I loved it. I love it when we play that way. We looked like a unit.”
McMullin and Tucker Miller, the only two seniors on Orange’s team, finished the game on the floor as the Panthers ran out the clock. At midseason, it appears a return to the state playoffs would be a certainty for both of them. Orange was 7-1 going and ranked #11 in 3A basketball by MaxPreps going into the South Granville Holiday Tournament. They were fresh off a 50-point win over East Chapel Hill in its Big 8 opener.
After senior Machai Holt was dismissed from the team on January 3, the Panthers lost eight of its next nine and sunk to the bottom of the league.
On Wednesday night, McMullin and Miller will play their final game in Hillsborough against Southern Durham, led by their former coach Greg Motley.
“It’s going to be tough for me and my boy Tucker,” McMullin said. “We’ve know Motley since we were in elementary School. He coached us. It’s going to be tough for me. It’s going to be tough.”
After he cleaned up the gym on Monday night, a bleary-eyed Britt rushed back to Durham Regional. He not only was a winning coach as he journeyed back up I-85.
He was now a grandfather.
Orange’s Joey McMullin discusses win over Chapel Hill
The Orange Panthers completed a season sweep of the Chapel Hill Tigers on Monday night. Orange won 75-70 behind 24 points from senior Joey McMullin, who knocked down some pressure free throws down the stretch. The Panthers shot 16-of-17 from the foul line for its ninth win of the season. McMullin has spent four seasons on Orange’s varsity team, where he was a member of the 2017 Big 8 regular season championship team. That squad reached the state quarterfinals after playoff wins over Triton, Southern Guilford and Gray’s Creek. He was also on the floor when the Panthers defeated Southern Durham after a Connor Crabtree running one-handed with three seconds remaining. On Wednesday night, McMullin will play his final game at Orange High when the Panthers host Southern Durham. Orange will start play in the Big 8 Conference Tournament next week.
Cedar Ridge, Orange men’s basketball reschedule final home games
The first burst of severe weather this winter wasn’t a snowstorm. It was thunderstorms and high winds, which has led the Cedar Ridge and Orange basketball teams to reschedule its final home games.
Cedar Ridge’s game against East Chapel Hill, originally scheduled for Friday night, was rescheduled for Monday night at 7. The Red Wolves’ women’s basketball team will play at East Chapel Hill on Monday night at 7.
The Orange men’s basketball team not only had to adjust its game against Chapel Hill on Friday, but also its final home game of the year against Southern Durham.
The Panthers’ men’s basketball team will face Chapel Hill on Monday night at home at 7:30. The Orange women’s basketball team travels to Chapel Hill on Monday night.
Originally, the Orange men had its senior night game scheduled against Southern Durham on Tuesday. Now, the game has been rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7:30. The Orange women will also travel to Southern Durham on Wednesday.
The Orange men will conclude its regular season with a road trip to Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium next Thursday. The Orange women will have its senior night game against the Lady Knights next Thursday, which will be the final home game for Lady Panthers senior Grace Andrews.
The Big 8 Conference Tournament will start February 17. All four basketball teams will be on the road for their respective first round games.
Orange’s Senior Night game will be the final home game for seniors Joey McMullin and Tucker Miller. It will be an unusual ending to an awkward season for McMullin, in particular. On the opposite sideline will be Southern coach Greg Motley, who was McMullin’s coach for his first two seasons at Orange. Motley, who coached Orange for 20 years before resigning at the end of the 2017-18 season, still teaches Economics at Orange and even has several current Panther players as his students. McMullen was one of them earlier this year, as was Orange’s starting point guard J.J. Thompson.
Of the four local teams, the Orange women have the best chance to make the state playoffs, despite a rash of injuries and losing four starters from last year. The Lady Panthers nearly turned the Big 8 Conference standings over on its ear on Thursday night, carrying league leader Northwood to overtime. The Chargers came away with a 51-44 victory, but only after Orange missed two free throws with three seconds remaining with the score tied at 44-44.
The Lady Panthers are 10-9, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.
While the Cedar Ridge men held its senior night ceremonies against Orange on January 31, Monday’s game against East Chapel Hill will be the official final home game for Mekai Collins, K.J. Barnes, Andrew Altieri, Jai’kel Gibbs, Zach Holmes, Grayson Ramos and Cameron Hartley. With a win, the Red Wolves would have its first three-game winning streak since early December 2016.
The Cedar Ridge men will conclude its regular season with a road trip to Southern Durham on Thursday.
For the third time in four years, there’s a chance the same school could win both the Big 8 men’s and women’s regular season championships. In the men’s standings, Northwood is 10-1, one game ahead of Southern Durham and Vance County. The Chargers end the year with road trips to Northern Durham and East Chapel Hill before finishing with a home game against Vance County. The Chargers defeated the Vipers 72-55 on January 21. Northwood and Southern Durham split their season series.
After escaping against Orange, Northwood leads the Big 8 Conference with a 10-1 record. Southern Durham, who lost both games to the Chargers, is 9-2.
Orange swept both basketball races in 2016-17. Hillside did it last year.
Schedule for the final week of the regular season:
Cedar Ridge men:
Monday: vs. East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough at 7.
Tuesday: at Vance County
Thursday: at Southern Durham
Cedar Ridge women:
Monday: at East Chapel Hill
Tuesday: at Vance County
Thursday: at Southern Durham
Orange men:
Monday: vs. Chapel Hill at 7:30
Wednesday: vs. Southern Durham 7:30
Thursday: at Northern Durham 7:30
Orange women:
Monday: at Chapel Hill
Wednesday: at Southern Durham
Thursday: vs. Northern Durham
