Since Friday’s loss to Hillside, the word that Orange Coach Greg Motley has focused on is “toughness.”
It’s a good thing for Orange that they displayed exactly that on Tuesday night, because without it Cedar Ridge would have pulled an upset.
Mitch Portman scored 22 points as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 76-56 at Jim King Gymnasium. Eli Haithcock added ten as Orange defeated the Red Wolves for the sixth consecutive time.
Khalil Barnett had 16 to lead the Red Wolves, who placed three players in double figures. Terrence Crawford added 13 while Mekai Collins finished with ten.
“They’re a team that never quits,” said Orange coach Greg Motley. “We knew they were going to keep running. I thought our kids did a good job responding to the runs. Every time they made a run, I thought we did a good job of responding.”
Collins and Crawford hit 3-pointers to open the game to push the Red Wolves to a 6-2 lead early, but Orange quickly found its footing after a slow start. Orange ended the first quarter with a 20-4 run, ending with Portman scoring a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer following an odd sequence where Cedar Ridge was signaled possession, yet Orange was given the ball after a rebound went out of bounds off of Haithcock.
Orange’s Morgan Paschall scored all nine of his points in the second quarter, while Mekai Holt and Zyon Pettiford added four points each. Crawford finished with seven points in the second quarter, coming away with ten points in the first half, but Orange led 45-28 at the half.
Paschall’s nine points is a season-high. Motley would like to see him develop ball skills as the season continues.
“You break down a lot of stuff with crossover dribbles,” said Motley. “Started out this season, we knew he had to handle the ball more and better. He has to have the confidence to do it.”
The Red Wolves controlled the pace in the third quarter behind the three guard lineup of Collins, Barnett and Crawford. Cedar Ridge narrowed the gap to 46-34 behind a three-pointer from Crawford. It could have been even closer, but Cedar Ridge missed three cracks from point blank range after a series of offensive rebounds. Portman finally got a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast to push Orange’s lead to 48-34. In the latter stages of the third quarter, Cedar Ridge trailed 52-41 following a 3-pointer from Eddie Altieri, but Holt made a steal leading to a Portman lay-in. On the subsequent inbounds, Holt tapped the pass, leading to another Portman lay-up, and Orange led 56-41 despite treading water for much of the quarter.
“We feel like we gave up too many offensive rebounds against Hillside,” said Motley. “Our free throw percentage was way too low. We have some key things to focus on now.”
Orange faces Lee County on Wednesday night, followed by another road trip to South Granville on Friday. Cedar Ridge travels to Southern Vance on Thursday.
CEDAR RIDGE: Khalil Barnett 16, Terrence Crawford 15, Mekai Collins 10, Eddie Altieri 9, John Vaughn 3, Andrew Altieri 3.
ORANGE: Marquis Phelps 6, Mitch Portman 22, Kendall Whitted 5, Morgan Paschall 9, Joey McMullin 8, Mekai Holt 5, Eli Haithcock 10, Matt Atherton 2, Zyon Pettiford 4, Jason Franklin 1, Marvante Beasley 2.