Orange Men’s Basketball

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.

Photo by Jacques Morin 

In golf, you make the turn when you’re halfway done with your round.

The Orange men’s basketball team has made the turn in Central Conference play. For the past seven years, they’ve been playing catch up against Northwood or Southern Durham, depending on which league they were in.

Now, everyone in the Central Conference is chasing them.

Eastern Alamance arrived to Hillsborough on Tuesday night trying to pull the Panthers back down to the pack in league play, but the Orange sophomores wouldn’t allow it.

Coleman Cloer finished with 27 points while Kai Wade added 20 as Orange defeated the Eagles 75-67 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Panther Gymnasium. Orange (8-10, 6-0 in the Central Conference) leads Southern Alamance by one game for first place in the league.

The Panthers are looking for its first conference title since the 2016-2017 season.

While the Eagles were blown out by 38 points in its last trip to Hillsborough, they have been the surprise of the league this year under new coach Parrish Walker and roster additions like Jordan Matthews and Ja’vier Tinnin. Eastern Alamance went into last week tied with Orange for first place before losing to Southern Alamance in overtime.

On Tuesday, Wade directed the Orange offense like a conductor with a symphony. Then again, perhaps James Hetfield directing Metallica would be a better analogy because Wade was as subtle as a bomb. He relentlessly drove to the basket and forced fouls against the Eagles. The Panthers finished with 32 free throws and only eight turnovers, a season-low.

“Kai played great tonight,” said Orange coach Darryl Britt. “As always, he’s the floor general. He controls tempo and pace. Him and Cole are my extension on the floor. Everything Kai did, he did well.”

Matthews paced the Eagles (12-6, 4-2) with 21 points and eleven rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season.

The Eagles shot 9-of-11 from the field in the first quarter with Tinnen racking up seven assists. Amari Gibbs scooped a stickleback shot from under the basket at the quarter buzzer to put the Eagles ahead 21-19.

Orange led 34-33 at half-time. In the second half, Wade and Cloer constantly attacked the basket, which led to several Eastern Alamance starters getting in foul trouble.

With 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, Wade sank his patented pull-up jumper and scored over Tinnen, who was whistled for his third foul. Wade’s free throw tied the game at 40-40 while Tinnen, who finished with a season-high 12 assists, left the game. The Eagles offense didn’t flow the same without him.

The Panthers immediately went on a 12-0 run with all the points coming from Cloer and Wade, culminating with a steal by Xandrell Pennix. In transition, Wade handed off to Cloer, who sank a uncontested three-pointer, vaulting the Panthers ahead 49-40.

Matthews kept the Eagles in it during the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Matthews opened the final frame with a lay-in to cut the Orange lead to 54-52, but Mason Robinson caught a gorgeous hook-around pass from senior Ryan Moss for a two-handed dunk. That launched a 8-2 Orange run that included Cloer scoring off a dunk following a steal.

With Orange leading 62-55, Robinson stuffed a drive by Matthews. Pennix captured the loose ball, drove the length of the floor and collided with the Eagles’ Anthony Weaver in mid-air. Pennix  banked the shot in while Weaver was whistled for his fourth foul. Pennix completed the three-point play to increase the Orange advantage to 65-55.

Orange senior center Ryan Honeycutt finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

The back nine of the Central Conference slate will be tricky for Orange. Of their final six conference games, five are on the road, starting with Friday’s trip to Western Alamance. The only home game will be against Southern Alamance, who lost a 5-point lead with :28 remaining in Graham against Orange on December 14. Orange escaped with a 72-68 win in overtime.

But Orange is at the turn now and they won’t be hard to find as the back nine begins.

They’re the ones on top.

Photo by Carly Williams 

Two minutes and ten seconds.

For the past three years, the Person Rockets have been the ones asking questions and the Orange Panthers were stuck trying to answer them. Too often, the Rockets size, speed, range and experience would riddle the Panthers into submission.

Until late on Friday night when Orange found the answer….which was two minutes and ten seconds.

A possession that Orange may have never had before and, with a shot clock inevitably on the horizon in North Carolina high school basketball, may never have again. But it led to the Panthers’ first win over Person since 2014.

Orange led 60-56 with 2:43 remaining in regulation when coach Derryl Britt called timeout. Up to that point, Orange and Person had played at a consistent pace which led to sloppiness as the stakes got higher and the minutes fading away. Orange’s Xandrell Pennix had just thrown the ball away that was stolen by Person’s DaeJon Hodge, who immediately turned it right back over when he threw a pass to Lance Clarke that went to the Orange cheerleaders instead.

Britt preached patience to his team in the huddle.

“I told them they weren’t expecting us to run clock here,” Britt said. “And we’re not going to help them by forcing our offense.”

So Kai Wade, Coleman Cloer, Freddy Sneed, Pennix and Malachi Poole (who substituted in for center Ryan Honeycutt) succeeded in gradually taking the life out of Person’s chances. When Orange started the possession, Person’s top scorer, Lance Clarke, had two fouls. Then he picked up his third and fourth fouls defending Cloer.

With 1:18 remaining, Pennix threw a pass out of the right corner to Cloer, who hit Wade on the wing. Wade found an opening in the paint, but stumbled over Clarke’s foot. The whistle and foul on Clarke was his fifth.

And with that, Britt’s plan to suck the life out of the Rockets worked to perfection.

Person simply didn’t have another offensive weapon to rely on and didn’t score in the final 3:43 aside from a meaningless field goal from Hodge in the waning seconds. Cloer drained three key free throws as Orange won 63-58.

Cloer led Orange with 27 points. But the X-factor, pardon the pun, was Xandrell Pennix, who scored 17 points off 5-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. It was the first time in five career games against Person that Pennix finished in double-figures.

Wade finished with eleven points and nine assists.

Clarke led Person with 22 points off 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Hodge was the only other Rocket in double-figures with 12 points.

The win kept Orange tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the loss column in the Central Conference at 5-0. Person (9-5, 0-3) dropped its fourth straight.

Any Orange win over Person comes the hard way. Friday night was no different. After Orange took home wire-to-wire wins in its opening three games of 2024, they never led in the first half. Person stormed out to a 10-3 lead, behind three-pointers from Clarke and Jordan Lunsford. Pennix drained his first three-pointer off a pass from Cloer, but the Rockets’ C.J. Hunt canceled that out with his own shot from downtown that kicked around the iron three times before dropping in, leading to plenty of rolling eyes along the Orange bench.

The Rockets extended its lead to 26-16 following a three-pointer from Quante Bowman, his only field goal, with 5;57 remaining in the second quarter. Wade started a late Orange run with his own basket from beyond the arc, then moved the Panthers to 26-23 after a lay-in. Clarke and Hodge each sank shots in the final minute of the first half to send Person to the locker room with a 35-30 lead.

Clark and Lunsford extended Person’s lead to 39-30 to open the second half, but Orange’s defense settled in for the remainder of the game. Person hit six 3-pointers in the first half, but were limited to only two in the second.

Cloer went on a personal 7-0 run to move the Panthers within 39-37. After consecutive 3-pointers from Pennix, Cloer hit a free-throw with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game for the first time. Following a free throw by Bowman, Wade stole the ball from Hodge and fed Cloer down the floor, who flushed the ball down with one-hand to give the Panthers its first lead of the game.

The game was tied 48-48 going into the fourth quarter. Cloer opened the frame with a 20-footer where he wound up on his back. Person’s Lamont Johnson came back with a stickleback field goal, but Pennix responded with another three-pointer. Clark came back with his own trey, followed by a lay-in from Lunsford to give the Rockets the lead by one.

Pennix drained another big shot off a pass from Cloer to put Orange ahead 57-55, and the Rockets went the subsequent 5:31 without a field goal.

Orange’s last home win over Person was on December 4, 2013, though Person has played inside Panthers Gymnasium only three times since then.

Photo by Carly Williams

There’s something to be said for a grinding, proud team that plays hard for its coach regardless of the opposition. That’s what Cedar Ridge men’s basketball is right now.

If a program is lucky, once every 10-15 years it finds itself with a player or two that collects multiple Division I college offers and shows why every night they step onto the floor.

That’s Orange basketball right now.

The differences stood out on Wednesday night.

Orange led by as many as 31 points against its crosstown rival and defeated Cedar Ridge 82-53 at Panthers Gymnasium. Sophomore point guard Kai Wade and forward Coleman Cloer each finished with 18 points while junior Xandrell Pennix added 16 as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves for the sixth straight time.

Junior Braeden Wilbourn led the Red Wolves with 15 points while senior center Harrison Perel added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Since the start of 2024, Orange has won three straight Central Conference games by an average of 34 points and haven’t trailed at any point. The Panthers (5-10, 4-0 in the Central Conference) are tied with Eastern Alamance in the loss column for first place in league play.

Through a twist of fate on scheduling, Orange is facing its crosstown rival and its Highway 57 rival in the same way. After dispatching of Cedar Ridge, the Panthers will face Person tonight in Hillsborough on two days rest.

The Rockets have beaten the Panthers five straight times, including three last year. The Panthers last win over the Rockets came on December 15, 2014.

“We’re on a mission,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “We’re focused on the big picture. We’re trying to win these individual games one at a time, but we’re on a team mission and a team goal. That is if we beat everybody in the conference the first time around, I believe that half of the conference is going to beat each other up. That would make it extremely difficult for anybody to catch us.”

Orange junior Xandrell Pennix opened the game with seven points in the first quarter, the hottest in a line of hot hands for the Panthers. Orange had four three-pointers in the first quarter, which included treys from Cloer, Wade and Keaton Westbrook. The Panthers shot 8-of-11 from the field in the opening stanza to take a 20-11 lead.

The Panthers had 26 points in the second quarter and built a 46-21 halftime lead. Orange center Ryan Honeycutt finished with ten points and eleven rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.

Orange finished with 44% shooting from the field and out rebounded the Red Wolves 50-39, including 19 offensive rebounds.

Pennix opened the second half with a three-pointer, which started a highlight show that delighted the packed Orange student section, most of whom were adorned in white t-shirts. Pennix stole the subsequent inbounds pass and threw a off-the-backboard ally-oop to Cloer, which flushed it down with a reverse dunk to send the home side of the gymnasium into a frenzy.

Orange built its lead to 61-27 after another 3-pointer from Pennix with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter. Perel triggered a comeback that got the Red Wolves within 65-44 with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Perel scored eleven of his 13 points in the second half. Freshman Jordan Jacobson, who scored the game-winning basket against Chatham Central on Monday night in overtime, scored ten points for the Red Wolves.

Orange’s Hector Garrido came off the bench to score seven points and grab four rebounds. Michael Clark, who played as a freshman on the varsity two years ago, chipped in six points and grabbed six rebounds in garbage time.

Cedar Ridge will return home to face Eastern Alamance tonight in Hillsborough at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

In the nonstop thrill ride that is Orange men’s basketball, things can get hectic fast.

From ally-oop slam dunks to shot blocks that wind up in the fourth row of the Orange student section, the Panthers can fill up a highlight reel easily. Add in an Orange home crowd that has nearly packed the home grandstand to capacity twice this year, the subsequent noise can send adrenaline to peak levels.

Against Walter Williams on Friday night, there was an overload.

Early in the second quarter, sophomore point guard Kai Wade found classmate Mason Robinson for an ally-oop dunk that sent the gym on its ear. Moments later, the Orange bench was hit with a technical fall when a reserve said something on the bench. As Orange extended its lead too 21-10, there was confusion over the possession arrow at the scorer’s table, which led to an Orange High School administrator walking over to try to quell the situation.

As the confusion wound down, Orange coach Darryl Britt adjusted his stool as action restarted. An official thought that Britt slammed the end of his stool onto the court in frustration over a foul that was called against Orange and gave him another technical, leading to Britt’s ejection. Britt barely protested and appeared more confused that angry as he led the gym.

Bitt watched the rest of the game off the National Federation of High School Sports Network feed on his iPad while assistant William Dobbs took over the reigns.

As the Orange fans showered the officials with boos, the Panthers made sure there wouldn’t be any drama for the rest of the night.

Orange went on a 16-0 run where the scoring was balanced between several starters and cruised to a 77-40 win over the Bulldogs. Coleman Cloer finished with 22 points and eight rebounds while junior Xandrell Pennix added 19 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Orange (5-10, 3-0 in the Central Conference) maintained its share of first place in the Central Conference. The Panthers and Eastern Alamance are the only teams undefeated in league play.

The Bulldogs were limited to 24% shooting from the field. Cavion Stokes paced Williams (5-4, 0-2) with eleven points.

Orange had 18 assists on 27 field goals. Senior center Ryan Honeycutt added ten points and six rebounds.

It was the first time that Dobbs found himself in a situation where he was the head coach of a team since he led the Cedar Ridge women’s team for two seasons, ending in 2021.

“Coach Britt and I before the beginning of every game,” Dobbs said. “I know ahead of time what his plans are and what we plan to do. Unfortunately, tonight he had to step out and I had to step in. But I know the game plan and we just preceded with what we had mapped out.”

For the second straight game, Orange never trailed, though they started slowly from the field. The Bulldogs Brian Williams canned a jumper with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter to even the score at 6-6, the game’s only tie. That seemed to snap Orange out of its funk as they scored eight points in the final 1:27 of the first quarter.

Cloer drained two free throws, followed by a three-pointer from Pennix off a drive-and-dish from Cloer. Then Clower nailed a 20-footer just before the buzzer.

Stokes knocked down two free throws following Britt’s technical foul to cut Orange’s lead to 21-14. Cloer took a pass from Wade for a one-handed dunk to trigger Orange’s big run. Wade, who finished with six assists, fed Honeycutt for another two-handed flush, increasing Orange’s lead to 25-14 and the Bulldogs would never get in double figures again.

Freshman Hector Garrido came off the bench to score seven points, grab three rebounds and dish out two assists for Orange in the second half.

It was a strong start to 2024 for the Orange men’s basketball team. The Panthers had two wire-to-wire wins over Western Alamance and Walter Williams. On Friday night, Orange rolled past Walter Williams 77-40 in Hillsborough in a game that had a wide assortment of dunks, blocked shots and sharp interior passing. Junior Xandrell Pennix finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Pennix finished 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Against Western Alamance, senior center Ryan Honeycutt came away with a double-double, registering 12 points and eleven rebounds. Against Williams on Friday night, Honeycutt finished with ten points and six rebounds. Honeycutt and forward Mason Robinson helped Orange block nine shots compared to only two for the Bulldogs. The Panthers defense forced 21 turnovers. Orange is the only undefeated team in league play in the Central Conference at 3-0. Nest week, the Panthers will have two crucial battles. On Tuesday, the Panthers host crosstown rival Cedar Ridge, who upset Person last week. On Friday night, the Panthers face their Highway 57 rival, the Person Rockets. Person defeated Orange three times last season, including once in the Central Conference Tournament. Overall, the Rockets have beaten Orange five straight times. Last year in Hillsborough, the Rockets got a field goal with two seconds remaining to beat Orange and finish second in the Central Conference behind Northwood.