Orange High School

Friday night was the first time Orange and Hillside faced each other in a boys basketball conference game since 2004.

But milestones took a backseat for Panthers Coach Greg Motley. It was no substitute for teaching a lesson—-with a lengthy substitution.

“We had a lack of effort, “ said Motley. “We felt we had to work way harder than they were working, and we didn’t. We gave up too many second chances. If we had cut down on those, we could have made it a better game.”

When Hillside scored four times from offensive rebounds off missed dunks. Motley delivered a lesson about effort.

He benched his entire starting five with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter. They didn’t return until there was 3:36 left in the game.

When the starters left, Hillside led 46-31 after Orange went the first 4:05 without scoring. Behind reserves Machai Holt, Ryan Sellers, Jason Franklin, Eli Haithcock and Zyon Pettiford, the Panthers narrowed the deficit to 38-31 early in the fourth quarter.

By the end, Traylen Warren sank free throws and the Hornets, coming off a double overtime loss to Chapel Hill, defeated the Panthers 58-45. Warren led Hillside with 15, while Deontrae Brown had nine.

Mitch Portman paced Orange with ten, the only Panther in double figures. Haithcock, in his first game of the year, and Holt had eight each.

Despite the loss of Connor Crabtree and Logan Vosburg from last season, Orange is still a transition team. But Hillside was the rare team that could not only run with the Panthers, but they could rebound in transition.

“We knew they were a good transition team,” said Motley. “That was what we prepared for. We just turned the ball over too much against token pressure. They really didn’t pressure us that hard, we just didn’t do a good job holding on to the ball.”

Hillside also had superior depth. Hornets Coach Thurman Jordan played 13 players, ten of whom scored.

Orange jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a three-pointer from Joey McMullin. The Panthers had only one more three-pointer the rest of the game, and McMullin was held to four points.

Hillside’s transition game cranked up in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 21-10. Warren scored six points in the frame and led 25-19 at the half

In the third quarter, Orange didn’t get any points from its starters. After Tarvarest Hargraves scored on a stickback basket off a missed dunk by Xavier Young, Motley benched his starting five.

Holt and Haithcock kept the Panthers in the game, along with a three-pointer from the freshman Franklin.

Orange is now 4-2, 1-1 in the Big 8. Hillside improved to 2-3, 0-1 in the Big 8.

Orange hosts Cedar Ridge on Tuesday at OHS.

HILLSIDE 58, ORANGE 45

ORANGE: Marquis Phelps 4, Mitch Portman 10, Morgan Paschall 4, Joey McMullin 4, Machai Holt 8, Eli Haithcock 8, Ryan Sellers 2, Jason Franklin 3, Matt Atherton 2.

HILLSIDE: Traylen Warren 15, Xavier Young 4, Damon Sanders 7, Brian Bullock 5, Deontrae Brown 9, Jysson Slate 4, Rod Bailey 2, Tarvarest Hargraves 4, Ja’lyn McIntosh 4, Drake Thompson 4.

In a matter of seconds, the Orange girls basketball team suffered a setback it avoided for most of last season.

An injury to its star player.

Through a 21-0 start in 2016-17, Orange remained fairly healthy. On Friday night against Hillside, junior forward Icez Barnett went for a loose ball as the first quarter ended, injuring her right foot. With a grimace on her face, Barnett limped to the bench, which was the most movement she showed for the rest of the night.

She watched the remainder of the game with her right leg extended along the vacant chairs, and the Lady Panthers were never the same without her.

After Orange led 8-2 at the end of the first quarter, Hillside reeled off 15-6 run and held off Orange 35-31 at Hornets Gymnasium. Faith Blackstone led the Hornets with 14 points.

Sophomore Lauren Cates led all scorers with 15, but the Lady Panthers’ offense was thrown into disarray after losing Barnett, who scored 20 points in Orange’s conference-opening victory over East Chapel Hill on Tuesday.

The loss of Barnett riddled Coach B.J. Condron’s rotation down to seven players, yet the Panthers still had a chance to tie late after Hillside’s Jada Green missed the front end of an 1-and-1. Cates tried to get open for a three pointer, but Dajhah McFee stripped the ball free and Maleiya Hill came up with a steal.

The Hornets improved to 3-3, 2-0 in the Big 8. Orange falls to 3-3, 1-1 in the Big 8.

In Hillsborough on Friday, Chapel Hill defeated Cedar Ridge 45-40. The Red Wolves, coming off a victory at Northwood, are now 6-5, 1-1 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves travel to Orange on Tuesday night.

HILLSIDE 35, ORANGE 31

ORANGE: Grace Dively 4, Janea Myers 7, Icez Barnett 3, Lauren Cates 15, Grace Andrews 2.

HILLSIDE: Maya Johnson 2, Faith Blackstone 14, Maleiya Hill 5, Dajhah McFee 2, Shianna Bibson 1, Maliya Simpson 7, Jordyn Burton 4.

Photo by Dave Lindaman

Mitch Portman came up big when Orange needed him most in its conference opener. Portman scored 17 points, including ten in the second half, as the Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill 56-50 on Tuesday night.

Joey McMullin added 15 points, included 13 in the second half as the Panthers fought back from a six-point halftime deficit. After Monday’s win over Lee County, Orange is now 4-1 with a game against Hillside set for tonight at Durham. The tripleheader starts with the JV game at 4:30, followed by the girls at 6.

Orange Senior Guard Mitch Portman Discusses 56-50win Over East Chapel Hill

Trailing 25-20 at the half in its conference opener, Orange rallied for a 56-50 victory on Tuesday night. Mitch Portman finished with 17 points to lead the Panthers, while Joey McMullin added 15. McMullin Scores 13 in the second half and sank a trio of 3-pointers n the opening three minutes of the third quarter to give the Orange offense momentum.

After a rare week off in the midst of December, the Orange Wrestling team returned to business with a dominant victory over Hillside.

The Panthers scored nine pins, five of them in less than a minute, to defeat the Hornets 84-0 to improve to 10-0. Mitchell Askew scored the fastest pin of the night with a :17 victory at 113 pounds.

Trey Jones scored his fastest pin of the season in :26 at 170. At 160, Avery Jenkins earned a pin in :42. Senior Bailey Hawkins claimed his 11th straight victory at 132 pounds with a pin in :55.

Justin Hutchins (120), CT Lopeman (138), Levi Anderson (145), Josiah Ramirez (182) and Jacob McBroom (220) all earned victories by forfeit.

Daylan Alston, the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, improved to 11-0 with a pin at 4:54 against Rodney Harris, the most competitive match of the night. Alston has recorded seven pins and three forfeits. His lone decision came in the Orange Thanksgiving Duals with a 8-6 double overtime victory over Jonathan King of Southwest Guilford, which is easily Orange’s closest dual match to date, a 41-31 victory.

At 126, Gavin Wiggins earned a pin at 2:59. At 152, Mario Manduiano scored his second victory of the year via pinfall at 1:20, his second straight victory by pin. Following on the heels of his championship at 195 pounds in the Jim King Invitational, Braden Homsey remained undefeated with a pinfall at 2:32. Homsey improved to 10-0.

After having last weekend off because of snow, the Panthers will return to holiday dual wrestling action this weekend in Mebane. They will participate in the Eastern Alamance Tournament, which will be held at the Mebane Arts and Community Center starting Friday afternoon at 5. Saturday’s session starts at 9AM.

Orange Women’s Basketball Senior Janea Myers scored the game-winning layup against Union Pines with :01 remaining last Wednesday. Myers followed that by scoring twelve points against East Chapel Hill in Orange’s Big 8 opener on Tuesday night, a 62-47 victory.

Orange Panther of the Week: Janea Myers

A senior on the Orange Girls Basketball team, Myers scored the game-winning layup with :01 remaining last week as Orange defeated Union Pines. The Panthers have started the season 3-2 and captured its conference opener on Tuesday night with a 62-49 victory over East Chapel Hill. Myers scored 12 points against the Wildcats.

There was no better time for Janea Myers to become a hero.

Coming off a 60-22 loss to Northern Guilford the night before, Orange had struggled to get the lead in a foul-plagued game against Union Pines on Wednesday at Jim King Gymnasium.

The Lady Vikings  led 36-29 with 7:25 remaining after a jumper by Hadrya Balser, who finished with a game-high 19 points. Union Pines never conceded the lead against the Panthers in the second half—until the last second.

The Vikings led 41-40 when Emily Bowbless went to the line for two free throws. After she missed both of them, Orange had a glimmer of hope which quickly dissipated when Balser grabbed the offensive rebound.

That’s when Balser made her only mistake of the night. Instead of holding the ball and waiting to get fouled, Balser immediately jacked up a short jumper which missed. With :06 remaining, Orange’s Icez Barnett got the rebound and took off up the court with Myers trailing. Only Bowbless was back for the Lady Vikings.

Barnett wasn’t sure if she should take the ball to the basket herself or pass it over to Myers. Barnett had four fouls. Did she have enough time to score? Would Myers have time if she got the pass?

“She was nervous. I was nervous,” said Barnett.

Barnett found the opening she needed to pass it to Myers, who had the angle to lay it in with :01 remaining.

Even with that second left, Myers and Barnett didn’t bother to get back on defense. They were too busy celebrating.

Orange won 41-40. Myers layup gave Orange its first lead since the middle of the second quarter. She finished with 13 to lead the Panthers.

“After the game we had last night, it was good that we had some fight to finish the game out,” said Orange Girls Coach B.J. Condron. “This team was faced with adversity and I want to see us fight through adversity. And they did that.”

Barnett was the only other Panther in double figures with ten. Lauren Cates, who had 17 in Orange’s season-opening win over North Carolina School of Science and Math, was held to five.

Condron is faced with replacing seven seniors from a squad that won the Big 8 regular season and tournament championships last season. In 2016-17, the Lady Panthers got off to the best start in school history by winning its first 21 games. They finished 26-2 after losing to Rockingham County in the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Maers, Cates, Barnett and Grace Dively were rotation players last season now pressed into mentor roles this season.

“We’ve got some returning players and they insert themselves in helping the younger players,” said Condron. “I’m hoping that the younger players gain some experience looking at players like Janea and Icez so we can become a decent team.”

Janea Myers scored a layup with :01 remaining as Orange defeated Union Pines 42-41 on Wednesday night. Myers led Orange with 13 points. Myers got the ball off a pass from Icez Barnett on a 2-on-1 fast break after Barnett secured a rebound with six seconds remaining. Myers layup gave Orange the win, and its first lead in the game since the middle of the second quarter.

Orange Senior Janea Myers Talks Game-Winning Layup vs. Union Pines

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When Icez Barnett grabbed a defensive rebound with six seconds remaining against Union Pines trailing 41-40 on Wednesday night, she had to think fast. Janea Myers joined her on the 2-on-1 break with time running out. Barnett, playing with four fouls, dished it across to Myers for the game-winning layup with :01 remaining as Orange improved to 2-1.

Orange Junior Icez Barnett Discuss Frantic Final Seconds of Union Pines Win

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