The return to relevance for the Orange men’s basketball team has been a long time coming, yet it’s practically happened overnight.
Behind three freshmen and a sophomore, the Panthers have gone from winning 20 games in the previous three years to 15 wins this season alone.
But there’s a downside. Orange has lost three games on shots in the last second this year. All of them have been painful. The latest was easily the most excruciating.
Person’s Isaiah Smith hit a bank shot with :1.5 remaining as the Rockets rallied from a 58-51 deficit with 3:22 remaining to defeat Orange 63-61 on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. The Rockets (16-4, 6-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) swept the season series from the Panthers.
Coleman Cloer led Orange with 21 points.
There was more than just bragging rights on the line between the two longtime rivals. Person now has the inside track towards hosting a potential semifinal game in the Central Carolina Conference tournament later this month. Plus, Person came into Tuesday night ranked #14 in the 3A East region RPI rankings—one spot ahead of Orange. According to the latest RPI rankings, Person would face Orange in the 1st round of the state playoffs in Roxboro.
It was such a painful loss, Orange coach Derryl Britt completed the handshake lane, then sat on the front row of bleachers behind the scorer’s table with a despondent look on his face for five minutes before finally leaving to talk to his team. His mood grew more inconsolable as the ramifications of the loss sank in as he sat inside his office.
If Orange had held on to a late lead and prevailed, there’s a chance they could have hosted an opening round game in the state playoffs, something that hasn’t happened since 2017.
It felt like Tuesday night was the night for Orange to beat Person for the first time in eight years. The Panthers led a majority of the second half and had Rockets’ forward Lance Clarke, who scored 30 points in the first matchup between the two teams, plagued with foul trouble. Clarke came away with only seven points.
Cloer scored with 4:17 remaining as he glided down the lane and completed a right-hand finger rolll to put the Panthers ahead 56-51. It was Orange’s final field goal of the game, but they still built their lead to 58-51 after Cloer made two free throws with 3:22 remaining.
In a game of runs, Person had the final one–a 12-5 spree down the final minutes. Most of it came from Julian Crawley, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Crawley started the comeback with a lay-in off a pass from Hodge on an Orange defensive breakdown that left Britt furious. After Orange’s Freddy Sneed missed a one-hand runner, Crawley hit a turnaround jumper to cut Orange’s lead to 58-55. Orange immediately threw the ball away on its next possession.
Crawley missed a 15-footer, which was rebounded by Cloer. Smith stole the ball away from Cloer to force a turnover. With 1:43 remaining, Crawley missed a three-pointer, but Honeycutt was called for a foul on Hodge, who knocked down his only free throws of the game to whittle the Orange lead to 58-57.
Malachi Poole missed a 3-pointer, which was rebounded by Crawley, who fed Hodge for a breakaway lay-in to put the Rockets’ ahead 59-58 with :56 left. Honeycutt put Orange back ahead with two free throws after he was fouled by Hodge. Smith drove down the lane and fed it to Crawley, who laid it in to put the Rockets ahead with 22 seconds remaining.
After Kai Wade split two free throws to even the game, Smith banked in the game-winning basket over Poole. It was Smith’s only field goal of the second half.
Earlier in the third quarter, Person built a seven-point lead that was erased after Cloer drained a 25-foot 3-pointer, followed by two lay-ins by Wade, who finished with 14 points.
In the second quarter, Orange had an eight-point lead that was erased by Person reserve guard Quante Bowman, who went on a personal 8-0 run, concluding with a 3-pointer that evened the contest at 24-24.
Orange will travel to Northwood on Friday night. The Panthers will host Eastern Alamance for its regular season finale on February 10 in Hillsborough. It will be senior night for Darius Corbett, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Loch and Caleb Barreto.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 60, PERSON 29
After a sluggish first half, the Orange women’s basketball team sued a 26-0 run in the second half to pull away from Person and win 60-29, completing a sweep of the regular season series.
After Person’s Paige Jay knocked down a free throw to pull the Rockets within two points early in the third quarter, the Panthers held the Rockets scoreless for over eight minutes. Lady Panthers senior Erin Jordan-Cornell led all scorers with 16 points. Senior Jada Reed finished with 13 points, while sophomore Evelyn George added eleven.
Orange went to a full-court press to shut down the Person offense. In turn, that kick-started the Panthers transition game, which led to the Panthers fourth straight win over Person.
Orange (12-10, 5-5 in the Central Carolina Conference) will travel to Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, on Friday night in Pittsboro.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: PERSON 63, ORANGE 61
PERSON: 15 15 15 18-63
ORANGE: 15 12 18 16-61
PERSON: (Isaiah Smith 9, Julian Crawley 28, Lance Clarke 7, Jordan Lunsford 3, Romeo Snow 2, Quante Bowman 8, DaeJon Hodge 6)
ORANGE: (Mason Robinson 5, Kai Wade 14, Coleman Cloer 21, Ryan Honeycutt 8, Malachi Poole 5, Xandrell Pennix 6, Isaiah Seymour 2)
3-pointers: Person 2 (Bowman 2) Orange 8 (Pennix 2, Wade, Cloer 4, Poole).
Fouled out-none.
Women’s Basketball: Orange 60, Person 29
PERSON: 10 9 1 9–29
ORANGE: 10 12 22 16–60
PERSON: (Kayla Brown 10, McKayla Bradsher 5, Naveah Coleman 4, Paige Jay 3, Macey Bowes 5, Kelsey Jackson 2).
ORANGE: (Addie Atkins 8, Erin Jordan-Cornell 16, Evelyn George 11, Jada Reed 13, Nikayla Whitted 4, Maura McMurtry 2, Marshea Byrd 6)
3-pointers: Person 2 (Bradsher, Bowes) Orange 3 (Atkins 2, Reed)