Derryl Britt’s debut as Orange men’s basketball coach was going to be noteworthy enough, win or lose.
After all, Tuesday night was the first time since 1997 that Greg Motley wasn’t the man on the sidelines coaching the Orange men’s varsity basketball team. That’s was news in and of itself.
Then the game started and things got really interesting.
Britt’s top returning player, Mekai Holt, picked up three fouls in the opening two minutes. His other top returner, Zyon Pettiford, was whistled for three fouls in the first half. Orange committed 12 fouls in the opening seven minutes.
Fortunately, Britt had a trump card—who just happened to play for Orange’s crosstown rival last year. His name was Mekai Collins.
In his first game in an Orange uniform, Collins scored 35 points to lead Orange past Union Pines 84-78 in the season-opener Tuesday night at Panther Gymnasium. It was the most points by a Panther since Connor Crabtree scored 36 points in the 2nd round of the 2017 3A State Playoffs against Grey’s Creek. Crabtree is now a member of the Tulane Green Wave, led by former NBA veteran coach Mike Dunleavy.
Collins didn’t even start the game, but was forced to play heavy minutes after Holt’s early foul trouble.
Orange, which doesn’t have a senior on its roster, placed four players in double figures. Junior Joey McMullin, in his third year as a starter, finished with 14 points. Sophomores Jason Franklin and Kyle Stanley, in his first varsity game, added ten each.
Union Pines (0-2) was led by Jalen Eberhart with 27 points.
While Collins’ addition to Orange’s squad may seem unusual, he and McMullin have played on the Team Quest AAU squad for years. They even attended Cedar Ridge’s season-opener against Person last Tuesday.
In a game that had a frantic pace from the very beginning, Collins came off the bench and scored eleven points, including three 3-pointers, in the final 5:32 of the first quarter to put Orange ahead 20-18 going into the second quarter.
Stanley came off the bench to score eight points in the second quarter for Orange, while Collins added seven more. The Panthers led 45-34 at the half.
“We made the game harder than it needed to be,” Britt said. “We have to stay focused. We get unfocused. We’re still trying to change some old habits. But I credit the guys for being receptive.”
With Orange leading 61-49 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter, Union Pines’ Eberhart and Deontae Monroe, who finished with 19 points, triggered a 11-0 run to narrow Orange’s lead to 61-60. Eberhart’s three-point play to open the fourth quarter was the closest the Vikings would get the rest of the game.
After a free throw by Pettiford, Franklin created a steal and Collins was fouled, sinking both foul shots to push Orange’s lead to 64-60. McMullin and Franklin knocked down key free throws down the stretch. Orange only had three field goals in the fourth quarter.
Orange will play two games in two road games in two nights to finish the week. They travel to Northern Guilford on Thursday, then face Granville Central on Friday. Both games can be heard on Hillsboroughsports.com.
ORANGE 84, UNION PINES 78
UNION PINES: Shyheem Spell 11, Deontae Monroe 19, Ahmad Jones 5, Jalen Eberhart 27, Tyreek McCoy 9, Kaedean Young 4, Josh Brown 3.
ORANGE: Zyon Pettiford 6, Machai Holt 9, Jason Franklin 10, Joey McMullin 14, Mekai Collins 35, Kyle Stanley 10, Niger Slanker 2.
