Women’s Basketball:
Orange 62, Riverside 16: Jada Reed’s midcourt short at the end of the third quarter flowed so smoothly through her hands and into the net, you would think she regularly practices it.
That’s because she does.
“In practices that’s all we do is shoot threes,” Reed said. “During water breaks, we shoot from midcourt and have contests.”
Reed’s 45-footer at the buzzer was the highlight of Orange’s 62-16 win over Riverside on Friday night at Panther Gymnasium. Senior guard Aaliyah Harris led the Lady Panthers (4-2) with 13 points. Reed added 12 points, including three 3-pointers.
With two of its most experienced players out of the lineup, it has been a time for several Lady Panthers to learn on the job. Junior varsity callups Aisha Caron and Katie Perkins made their varsity debut. Freshman Evelyn George had a career-high with 12 points.
Orange roared out to a 17-2 lead and held Riverside without a field goal in the opening nine minutes. Six different Lady Panthers scored in the opening quarter, including two field goals from Jarmil Wingate, who finished with eight points.
Shameia Holder led Riverside (1-3) with six points.
Orange will host Western Alamance on Tuesday, then welcome East Chapel Hill to Hillsborough on Wednesday.
PERSON 49, CEDAR RIDGE 22
In the first Central Carolina Conference game between the two teams, Person ended the first half on a 9-0 run to take an 18-6 lead into halftime. Phoenix Smith led the Red Wolves in scoring. Cedar Ridge (1-5, 0-2 in the CCC) will host Raleigh Charter School on Monday in Hillsborough. The Rockets (3-1, 1-0) won its conference opener after dropping a game against Halifax County (VA) last week in Roxboro.
Men’s Basketball:
Riverside 77, Orange 68
The Pirates’s Jared Merchant opened the game with eight straight points and led wire-to-wire in beating Orange 77-68 on Friday night.
Riverside led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, with Merchant scoring eleven of those points. He finished with 26.
Orange was led by senior guard Jerec Thompson, who had 30 points. Riverside put forward Xavier McQueen on Thompson most of the game. Thompson had 17 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer late in the third quarter that reduced Orange’s deficit to 53-44.
The Panthers opened the final stanza with the ball and a chance to reduce its deficit after trailing by as many as 18 in the third quarter. Orange had a transition opportunity, but Pirates forward Jaden Butler came up with a steal and led center Javion Johnson to an uncontested lay-in at the other end of the floor.
The good news for Orange (2-4) was senior center Hunter Burch had a career-high 14 points, including a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. All of Burch’s points came in the second half.
Four Pirates finished in double figures. In addition to Merchant, Johnson had 12 points, while Jaden Butler came away with ten and Corey Hairston added ten.
Riverside (3-3) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Orange will host Western Alamance on Tuesday in Hillsborough. They will travel to East Chapel Hill on Thursday, then host Walter Williams for its final game before Christmas.
PERSON 46, CEDAR RIDGE 34
Julian Crawley scored eleven points to help Person (4-2, 1-0 in the CCC) defeated Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough. Junior forward Rawlins Taylor carried the offensive load for the Red Wolves early. He scored Cedar Ridge’s first eight points, including the opening free throws which gave the Red Wolves’ its only lead of the game.
Taylor, Colton Taylor and Garrett Ray each had ten to lead Cedar Ridge. Neco Clark, who finished with four points, was the only other Red Wolf to score.
Cedar Ridge (2-4, 0-2) will play Raleigh Charter School on Monday at home. The Red Wolves will travel to East Chapel Hill on Tuesday, then travel to Northwood on Friday for its final game of the 2021 calendar year. Neither of Cedar Ridge’s basketball teams are slated to play in any holiday tournaments.