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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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For the first time since 2013, Carrboro has defeated Cedar Ridge in boys basketball.

DeAndre Burnette scored 20 points as the Jaguars defeated the Red Wolves 65-49 at Carrboro High on Wednesday night. Cole Phillips added eleven for the Jaguars, who had lost six straight to the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge (1-6) was led by Khalil Barnett’s 17 points. Mekai Collins added 14. Collins has scored in double figures in every game he’s played in this season.

It was the first time Carrboro defeated Cedar Ridge since the two teams were conference rivals in the 2-A Mid-State Conference.

The Cedar Ridge girls basketball team ended a four-game losing streak with a 39-27 victory over the Jaguars.

The Red Wolves jumped out to a 21-14 halftime lead, then held the Jaguars to only four points in the third quarter to pull away. Individual statistics were not sent in from the Red Wolves coaches.

The Cedar Ridge girls team is now 5-4.

CARRBORO 65, CEDAR RIDGE 49

CR-10    13      16.   10-49

CAR-14   15      22    14-65

CEDAR RIDGE: Eddie Altieri 2, Khalil Barnett 17, John Vaughn 1, Terrence Crawford 8, Mekai Collins 14, K.J. Barnes 5, Braxton Mergenthal 2.

CARRBORO: Chris Thompson 8, DeAndre Burnette 20, Jared Porter 9, Nick Jones 3, Zach Anderson 3, Caleb Jones 4, Cole Phillips 11, Neel Mahadevan 3, Tim Rogers-Neal 4.

In a new Big 8 Conference, the Orange Wrestling team took its first step toward another league title with an easy victory at East Chapel Hill.

Orange won 78-3 to improve to 8-0 in its conference opener.

Of the 14 scheduled matches, Orange won nine via forfeit. Trey Jones (170), Josiah Ramirez (182), Braden Homsey (195), Jacob McBroom (220), Daylan Alston (285), Kassel Summers (106), Noah Davis (113), Lucas Riley (138) and Avery Jenkins (160) all captured victories on forfeits.

At 126 pounds, Gavin Wiggins scored a pin of Damien Smith in :40 to improve to 8-2.

Coming off a 4th place finish at 145 pounds in the Jim King Invitational, C.T. Lopeman pinned Zekeriah Philbrick in 1:05. Lopeman, now 5-2, has two pins this season.

Coming off his 132-pound championship at the Jim King Invitational, Bailey Hawkins pinned Autumn Coles in :18. Hawkins is riding a seven-match winning streak.

East Chapel Hill’s Jacoby Ray scored the Wildcats’ only win of the night, a 9-7 decision at 113 pounds.

Orange travels to High Point on Saturday for the Southwest Guilford Round Robin. The first match is scheduled for 9 AM.

“We’re trying to figure out who can do what.”

Orange Coach Greg Motley uttered that phrase three times in four minutes in the postgame of Orange’s 57-52 loss to Northern Guilford on Tuesday night. It was a rematch of the state quarterfinals from last March, when Orange had just lost superstar senior Connor Crabtree because of a broken ankle suffered three days earlier against Triton, derailing the Panthers’ very serious hopes of winning the state championship.

The two teams that faced off at Jim King Gymnasium on Tuesday night were very different from the ones from last season. Orange was playing its second game and, well, they’re trying to figure out who can do what.

Their tallest player, Eli Haithcock, is on crutches after suffering an injury to his right foot. That leaves five other seniors, the only one of which who has starting experience is Mitch Portman.

Still, sophomore Machi Holt nearly took Orange to victory. Trailing 38-31 early in the third quarter, Holt entered the game and sent the Panthers on a 13-2 run, pushing them to a 41-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“Mekai changed things a lot,” said Motley. “He’s actually very aggressive. He’s a good ball handler, so he actually gives us a different look. Right now, we’re trying to figure out which guys can do it.”

The Nighthawks’ (3-1) Andy Pack wouldn’t let his team lose, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. Pack scored the game-winning layup with :53 remaining. Arba Allen hit six of seven free throws down the  stretch.

Orange trailed 57-54 when Pack missed a free throw with :2.3 remaining, but no one boxed out Pack on the subsequent rebound, leading Pack to score on a layup at the buzzer.

“It was a good fight for us,” said Motley. “We didn’t know what to expect because this was only our second game and they lost some players from last year.”

The final play highlighted what’s will likely be a prime concern for the Panthers: trying to find a low post presence until Haithock is set to return. After having the 6-7 Crabtree and 6-6 center Logan Vosburg the past three years, Orange hasn’t had to worry about a low post presence in a long time.

Now, it’s a prime concern.

“All of our guys are kind of lanky,” said Motley. “So no one is really a true post player.”

Joey McMullin, coming off a 37 point game against the North Carolina School of Science and Match, scored eleven points in the first half, but was held without a bucket the rest of the game.

“Right now, we have to get up and down the floor to score,” said Motley. “So we have to push it while we can. We’re trying to execute the way we need to. We’re struggling with that right now.”

”We have to do a better job in getting him open,” said Motley. “He’s a very good shooter.”

Orange (1-1) is scheduled to have two games the rest of the week. They travel to Union Pines tonight, followed by another road trip to Lee County on Friday night, weather permitting.

NORTHERN GUILFORD 57, ORANGE 52

NG-15  10  11   21-57

OR-9     14  18   11-52

Northern Guilford: Dakari Mitchell 2, Holden Lewis 3, Andy Pack 21, Kellen Nodge 4, Chris Herian 8, Lee Maynard 7, Rashawn Pleasant 7, Arbra Allen 5.

Orange: Mitch Portman 13, Morgan Paschall 4, Joey McMullin 11, Jason Franklin 4, Machai Holt 20.