There’s a saying in the Wild West that there isn’t a horse that can’t be rode and there never was a rider that can’t be thrown.
In high school sports, there never has been a flea that can’t be killed with a sledgehammer.
Orange guard Jason Franklin, playing on his senior night, had just stolen the ball from Northwood’s Drake Powell and was fouled with 1:25 remaining in regulation. With Northwood leading 45-43, Franklin stepped to the foul line with a 1-and-1 with a chance to tie the game.
It was at this moment on Tuesday night that the officials called a technical foul against Orange’s bench because a coach’s mask had fallen below his nose. The coach, according to one official, had been warned twice during the game.
Franklin missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Orange’s fortunes nosedived. Northwood (8-2, 5-2 in the Big 8 Conference) finished the game with eight straight points to defeat the Panthers 52-43. It was the Chargers’ sixth straight victory over the Panthers.
Afterwards, a dejected Orange Coach Derryl Britt squatted in front of his bench long after the limited gathering of parents and students had departed and murmured “It hurts, man.”
Coming off a win at Vance County that ended a nine-game losing streak, Orange played with fire against a taller and faster opponent. Franklin finished with 15 points, tied for team-high honors with junior guard Jerec Thompson.
Jarin Stevenson led Northwood with 17 points, but it was Federico Whitaker whose presence was felt the most for the Chargers in the second half. Whitaker hit a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarters and came away with 16 points, 13 after halftime.
Northwood never trailed in the second half, but its largest lead with only nine. With 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, Northwood led 51-44, Franklin soared above Troy Arnold on an inbounds pass and found J.J. Thompson for a 3-pointer.
After Stevenson scored on a stickleback of a miss by Arnold to increase the Chargers’ lead to 53-47, J.J. Thompson drilled another 3-pointer with 4:05 left. J.J. Thompson finished with eleven points, one short of his season-high.
Northwood center Tucker Morgan got a jump hook to fall to push the Chargers’ lead to 55-50. Jerec Thompson matched that with another 3-pointer, his third of the fourth quarter, to pull Orange within 3.
Franklin carried the first half for Orange on offense, scoring 12 points. Stevenson had 13 in the first half.
Orange (1-8, 1-7) hosts East Chapel Hill, which has already clinched the Big 8 Championship, on Thursday in Hillsborough.
WOMEN’S GAME: NORTHWOOD 41, ORANGE 23
The Northwood women’s basketball team has already captured its second straight Big 8 Championship. On Tuesday night, they showed why they’re a 3A State Championship contender.
Using its depth and surplus of sizable forwards and centers, the Chargers defeated Orange 41-23. It was a season-low in total points for Orange, which had a five-game winning streak snapped.
6-0 sophomore center Ta’Keyah Bland finished with 14 points for the Chargers, who are ranked #3 in the latest 3A MaxPreps rankings. Skylar Adams added 12 for the Chargers, who have won 18 consecutive games against Big 8 Conference opponents.
Orange center Erin Jordan-Cornell led the Lady Panthers with eight. Point guard Aaliyah Harris, who had been in double figures in five straight games, was held to seven.
Orange led for much of the first quarter, but the Chargers used a 12-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to go ahead 18-8. Consecutive field goals by Jordan-Cornell at the end of the first half reduced Orange’s deficit to 18-12 at the half.
Orange could only muster two field goals in the third quarter.
The Lady Panthers will host East Chapel Hill on Thursday night.
Between games of the doubleheader, Orange held a ceremony for the only senior on the women’s team, Jala Rainey, who scored the final basket of the game.
MEN: NORTHWOOD 52, ORANGE 43
NORTHWOOD: Colby Burleson 4, Frederico Whitaker 16, Drake Powell 2, Jarin Stevenson 17, Tucker Morgan 6, Troy Arnold 5, Kenan Parrish 2.
ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 15, J.J. Thompson 11, Hunter Birch 2, Jason Franklin 15.
WOMEN: NORTHWOOD 41, ORANGE 23
NORTHWOOD: Rae McClarty 2, Ta’Keyah Bland 14, Skylar Adams 12, Myla Marve 6, Jillian McNaught 2, McKenna Snively 5.
ORANGE: Aaliyah Harris 7, Samantha George 4, Erin Jordan-Cornell 8, Jarmil Wingate 2, Jala Rainey 2.