Photo by Erik Perel
In a season where youth usurped experience for playing time on the Orange men’s basketball team, the Panthers game against Cedar Ridge served as a thank you to the veterans from head coach Derryl Britt.
Transitions don’t always go smoothly when three freshmen replace three seniors in the starting lineup. Yet it’s led to the Panthers’ most successful season in six years and a large part of that comes from the unselfishness of seniors Darius Corbett, Kaleb Barnhardt, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Loch, and Caleb Barreto.
On Friday night, all of those seniors started as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 72-44. It was a taste of revenge for Corbett and Loch. In 2021, during the pandemic year when virtually no fans were allowed to games, the Red Wolves swept the Panthers, both times coming back from double-digit deficits to win.
Orange freshman Coleman Coler led Orange (15-6, 7-2 in the Central Carolina Conference) with 16 points. Barreto, who transferred from Wake Forest last summer, had a season-high 12 points.
Cedar Ridge senior Colton Taylor led all scorers with 22 points, but he was the only Red Wolf in double-figures.
“I was happy for my seniors tonight,” Britt said. “I love playing them together as a unit. It brings some intensity and they deserve it. Unfortunately for those guys, we had an infusion of talent and size. The way the seniors have handled this situation has been classy. I just wanted to bless the seniors tonight and have them start since it was the last time they would play Cedar Ridge.”
Orange is in sole possession of second place in the Central Carolina Conference after Person’s loss to Walter Williams on Friday night. The Rockets and the Panthers will meet on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.
Jonovan Wingate started the game hot for Cedar Ridge. He drained his first two 3-pointers to jolt the Red Wolves ahed 6-2 in the opening minutes. The hot shooting didn’t last for Cedar Ridge, who finished at 25% from the field.
Barreto’s 3-pointer off a feed from Barnhardt gave Orange a 8-6 lead, but Taylor’s foot never left the gas pedal . He drained two free throws to tie the game. Corbett drained back-to-back field goals to close the first quarter, assisted by Barnhardt and Barreto, respectively, to give Orange a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
When the second quarter started, Orange put in Cloer, freshman Kai Wade, junior Ryan Honeycutt, freshman Mason Robinson and sophomore Xandrell Pennix. Yet the Red Wolves opened the frame with six straight points, including Wingate’s third 3-pointer to cap a four-point possession that started with a free throw from sophomore Landon Dalehite. Taylor’s lay-in off a pass from Hayden Kirk gave the Red Wolves a 16-13 lead.
Orange went on a 12-0 run to take control midway through the second quarter. It started when Wade scored four straight points, including sinking a pull-up 15-footer. Robinson slammed home a dunk off a pass from Honeycutt. To complete the run, Honeycutt scored on a two-hand dunk off a pass from Cloer.
Orange’s frontline, which includes the 6’6″ Honeycutt, 6’7 Robinson and 6’6″ Cloer, made it impossible for the Red Wolves to get anything established inside. Orange outrebounded Cedar Ridge 50-42, including 19-to-11 on the offensive glass.
“It’s coming along,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt of his team’s inside game. “It’s something we’ve been harping on all year. The last few games we’ve really made a conscious effort. The guys have brought in to what we’re trying to do and they believe in what we’re trying to do.”
Orange piled up the offensive rebounds in the third quarter. The Red Wolves were held to six shots from the field while the Panthers had six offensive rebounds. On defense, Orange forced six Cedar Ridge turnovers. The Red Wolves didn’t score a field goal in the opening 5:09 of the second half.
All of this took place in front of the largest crowd of the season for Orange, where the student section was packed. That presence would be greatly welcomed by Orange’s coaches for its home game on Tuesday night against Person, which could decide 2nd place in the Central Carolina Conference, as well as a potential home game in the 3A State Playoffs and a potential semifinal game in the upcoming Central Carolina Conference tournament.
“To be honest, I don’t know how big the crowd is,” Britt said. “I love the energy of a big crowd, but once the game starts, I’m oblivious to the crowd. I kind of block that stuff out.”
ORANGE 72, CEDAR RIDGE 44
CR–10 16 6 12-44
OR–13 25 11 23-72
CEDAR RIDGE–Jonovan Wingate 9, Colton Taylor 22, Harrison Perel 1, Landon Dalehite 5, Colton Wingate 3, Hayden Kirk 4.
ORANGE–Kaleb Barnhardt 1, Isaiah Seymour 2, Thomas Loch 2, Darius Corbett 7, Caleb Barreto 12, Mason Robinson 5, Malachi Poole 3, Kai Wade 11, Coleman Cloer 16, Ryan Moss 5, Ryan Honeycutt 8.
3-pointers–CEDAR RIDGE 5 (C. Wingate, J. Wingate 3, Taylor) ORANGE 5 (Wade, Barreto 2, Cloer 2)
FOULED OUT-Kirk