It’s not even the week before Christmas and the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team has surpassed its win total from all of last year.
Braeden Wilbourn scored 20 points as the Red Wolves defeated Eno River Academy 73-53 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Wednesday night. It was a wire-to-wire win for Cedar Ridge (4-2), who are off to its best start since the 2015-2016 season, which was the last time they made the playoffs.
Cole Creedle led the Bobcats with 12 points. Eno River fell to 8-3 following its first trip ever to Cedar Ridge, which is only eight miles away.
Last week, the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts at famed Sikes Gymnasium to win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2018.
Despite giving up size in most positions, the Red Wolves swarmed over the ball against the Bobcats. Junior Tripp Beasley sank the only 3-pointer of the first half for Cedar Ridge early as the Red Wolves built a 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Wilbourn scored seven points in the opening frame.
Cedar Ridge junior Tripp Beasley finished with 15 points. Last week, Beasley led Cedar Ridge with 20 points against the Bulldogs.
Cedar Ridge led 30-23 at halftime, but the Bobcats narrowed the led behind early field goals from Jack Kroothoep and Cire McGhee. Eno River’s Ryder Moore was fouled as he fired a rainbow 3-pointer that found its way through the net. He sank the free throw for a 4-point play that cut the Red Wolf lead down to three points.
In the fourth quarter, Cedar Ridge sophomore Jordan Jacobson came alive with four 3-pointers. Jacobson sank three in a row from beyond the arc to pull away. Beasley added another 3-pointer while Kevin Etim had a late lay-in to finish with a career-high ten points.
It was the second game in two nights for Cedar Ridge. They dropped a close loss to Northern Durham on Tuesday.
Women’s basketball: Cedar Ridge 41, Eno River Academy 25:
The Cedar Ridge women’s team never trailed in beating Eno River in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Freshman Kassidy Tolliver led the Red Wolves with 17 points as Cedar Ridge won for the third time in four games.
Another freshman, Kennedi Fearrington, posted ten points to push the Red Wolves record to 3-3. Eno River, which fell to 4-7, was led by Seno Chan, who finished with eight points.
Cedar Ridge used its size and speed to hold the Bobcats to one field goal in the opening quarter. Tolliver scored eight points early while Elliott Weinfeld opened the game with a 3-pointer. Hailey McLeod and Ellamarie Perel came off the bench to score as the Red Wolves jumped out to an early lead they would not relinquish. Vivienne Matthews got the only points of the first quarter for Eno River.
The Bobcats actually outscored the Red Wolves in the second quarter as Chan got three field goals. Ally Almers and Sadie Olsen also scored for the Bobcats.
Tolliver scored nine points in the second half. Tiana Oxendine knocked down the only 3-pointer of the second half by either team.
Tolliver and Fearrington are producing early for a Cedar Ridge team that lost its top scorer and point guard from last year. Amiyah Ware, who set a county record by scoring 54 points against Western Alamance in 2023, graduated last June and is now playing at Division II North Greenville. Sarah Lowry, who was at Cedar Ridge for her junior year last year, transferred during the summer.
The Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts last Friday for its first road win of the season. Tolliver led Cedar Ridge with 14 points against the Bulldogs while Fearrington added eleven points.