Though Santa’s sleigh is still parked in the North Pole for the next 24 hours, there were some arrivals for the Orange men’s basketball team that showed up just in time to celebrate the Yuletide and a win over Southern Alamance.
There was the return of junior Ryan Moss, who missed the first eleven games of the season after he underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in September. That meant the Panthers got another weapon on offense and an expanded 12-man rotation, which coach Derryl Britt utilized to wear down the Patriots in an 80-63 victory on Wednesday night, Orange’s final game before Christmas.
On a night where 3-pointers flew through the air like snow flurries in winter, Panthers’ Sophomore Xandrell Pennix paced all scorers with 19 points. Freshman Coleman Cloer, despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter, finished with 14. Cloer has finished in double figures in eleven of Orange’s 12 games.
The Panthers (9-3) have already surpassed its win total from last year.
Southern Alamance (4-5), whose first six field goals were 3-pointers, were led by Jordan Moore with 18 points.
“They shot 3-pointers off the backboard, from the corner,” Britt said. “I thought they were auditioning for the Globetrotters. Ryan was shooting the ball well in practice. We ran a transition drill and Ryan was the guy in the corner knocking the 3-pointer down. I told him one day “Moss, if you don’t shot it that well when you come back, we’re going to have some problems.’ He said ‘I will, coach.’ Tonight, he did.”
The Patriots led the entire first quarter starting when Moore banked in a 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession. Southern Alamance’s Gage Martin, who finished with 14 points, added two more 3-pointers in the first quarter. A free throw by Nathan Teague built the Patriot lead to 14-8 with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Orange finished the quarter on a 12-6 run that started with a three-point play by senior Darius Corbett, who tied his career-high with 13 points.
Late in the first quarter, Cloer put the Panthers in the lead after he grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and drew a foul against Southern’s Evan Jacobson. Cloer missed the subsequent free throw, but fellow freshman Mason Robinson got the offense rebound for a stickback basket and was fouled, as well, to give Orange its first lead.
Orange outscored the Patriots 24-8 in the second quarter to take control of the game. Pennix scored seven of his 18 points in the second quarter. Moss drained the first of his three 3-pointers to put Orange ahead 31-20. Moss set a new career-high with nine points.
The Panthers will gear up for the South Granville Holiday Invitational in Creedmoor. Orange will play in the Columbia Bracket and face East Wake on Wednesday night at 7 PM. The winner will face either Cary or South Granville in the semifinals.
Women’s game: Southern Alamance 47, Orange 44
Orange fought back from a 14-point deficit and had a chance to tie late against Southern Alamance, but the Patriots held off the Panthers to win 47-44. Madison Brouillard sank two big free throws late to secure the Patriots seventh win of the season.
Orange played without center Erin Jordan-Cornell and forward Katelyn Van Mater. Senior Jada Reed and Nikayla Whitted paced the Panther comeback. Reed finished with 13 points, while Whitted had 12.
Sophomore Evelyn George scored seven points, including five in the fourth quarter. The Panthers had a possession in the final 20 seconds to tie the game, but Southern Alamance’s Shaniya Paylor stripped the ball away and came up with a steal.
Despite not scoring in the opening five minutes, Southern Alamance led 8-4 at the end of the first quarter. MeiLani Patterson paced the Patriots with 13 points. Center Clara LaChapelle scored 12 for Southern.
Orange will open play in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational on Monday morning. They will open the event against the Burlington School at 10 AM.