Time will tell if the first game of 2024 was the point where Orange found its basketball legs.
But for the first time this season, the Panthers finally displayed a show of dominance.
In just its third home game, the Panthers roared out to a 15-0 lead and cruised to a 81-42 victory over Western Alamance on Wednesday night at Panthers Gymnasium. Coleman Cloer scored a season-high 30 points as the Panthers built a double-digit lead just 2:45 into the game. The Warriors didn’t get any closer than 14 points the rest of the game.
Josh Long, Hamilton Plunkett and Christian Hester paced the Warriors with six points each.
Orange was coming off three straight losses in the John Wall Invitational in Raleigh. The Panthers fell to Northwood and Jordan at Broughton High School, then fell to Broughton at William Peace University on Saturday in the 7th place game.
For the first time this season, Orange got off to a strong start. They shot 11-of-14 from the field in the opening quarter, draining all three of its 3-pointers. Cloer sliced through the Warriors’ repeated double teams and scored 15 points in the opening quarter, often absorbing contact while finishing drives to the basket.
Orange senior center Ryan Honeycutt scored 12 points and grabbed eleven rebounds. Sophomore Kai Wade added eleven points, including a deep three-pointer early in the third quarter.
The Warriors couldn’t get anything going on the interior because of Orange’s size. Sophomore forward Mason Robinson finished with five blocks. Late in the third quarter, Cloer lofted an ally–oop to Robinson, who flushed it down with vigor to increase Orange’s lead to 66-36 at the end of the third quarter.
While the starters didn’t play in the fourth quarter, that didn’t mean the highlights were over. Freddy Sneed shot down the court and scored a thunderous one-handed dunk that sent the gym reeling. Sneed then scored again off a strip and steal. He finished with seven points.
It was the second time in his Orange career that Cloer reached the 30-point barrier. Last January, Cloer set his career-high with 35 points against Person in Roxboro.
Though the Panthers are only two games into the Central Conference season, they’re already alone atop the league. Walter Williams fell to Southern Alamance on Tuesday.
The Panthers will host Williams on Friday night in Hillsborough. The Bulldogs are under the direction of new head coach Jimmy Lloyd, who replaced legendary coach Tommy Cole last year. Cole coached the Bulldogs for 28 years and led them to two state championships.