For two schools that have only each other twice, Orange and Granville Central have a bond.
Mike McDaniel graduated from Orange in 1992, when he was an All-PAC 6 linebacker for the most successful Panther team of the 90s. He went on to be an assistant coach with Orange in the mid-2000s before leaving for Stem to build his own brand.
Derryl Britt was once a coach at Central before becoming the North Carolina School of Science and Math as an assistant. He still lives in Granville County and figured McDaniel would take the Orange job when it opened in 2018 following the departure of Greg Motley. When McDaniel opted to stay in Stem, Britt was hired away from Warren County.
Last year, Orange defeated Central in a barnburner in front of a heated, packed gym in Granville. On Tuesday night at a solid crowd in Hillsborough, the only thing that was hot was Orange’s shooting.
Sophomore Jerec Thompson scored a career-high 25 points to guide the Panthers to a 76-48 win over Central in Hillsborough. Thompson scored eleven points on his first four shots as the Panthers led wire-to-wire for the second straight game.
Senior Machai Holt added 15 points as the Panthers started a span of three games in four days. They host Southern Lee on Thursday in Hillsborough, then travel to Southern Alamance on Friday.
Britt, who was pressed into the awkward situation of replacing Orange’s all-time winningest coach last August, used this summer to put his imprint on what is now his program. During the annual summer camp at Guilford College, Britt believes the team grew closer.
“Camaraderie is better this year,” Britt said. “We’re much more of a team this year. I attribute that to the second year of the guys being in the system. They came into the season understanding the system better after a really good summer and the expectations better.”
Behind Thompson’s hot shooting and Machai Holt’s finishing ability, Orange jumped out to a 15-4 lead. Holt scored 15 points, one of four Panthers in double figures.
Jason Franklin added eleven points, while senior Joey McMullin added 10. McMullin started the year with a career-high 38 points in the season-opener against Research Triangle.
Next up for Orange will be Southern Lee, who handed the Panthers a bitter loss on January 2 in Sanford. The Panthers led 47-39 with 1:36 remaining before the Cavaliers finished the game on a 13-0 run to win 52-47.
With the game tied, Holt tried to dribble through a double team and fell to the floor. There was no whistle, leading to an immediate Orange protest from the bench. In the heat of the moment, a referee called a technical foul with ten seconds remaining in the game on an Orange assistant because he left his seat.
The game-winning free throws were scored on the technical free throws.
Southern Lee finished 25-4 and won the Tri-County Conference Championship. That loss may have cost Orange a trip to the state playoffs.
While Southern Lee graduated six players from that team over the summer, the memory of that loss remains vivid in Britt’s mind.
“I have not forgotten about that one at all,” Britt said. “That game sticks in my mind. The details are burned into my mind. We’re going to play as good a ball as we can play.”