Just in time for the holidays, the Orange men’s basketball team was like the Grinch in an empty house on Christmas Eve before his babyface turn.
Doing lots of stealing.
In fact, Orange forced 27 turnovers against Western Alamance on Friday night, jump starting a 12-0 run to open the second half as the Panthers rolled past the Warriors 73-48 in Hillsborough. It was Orange’s sixth straight victory over Western Alamance.
Senior Xandrell Pennix was the leading scorer for the Panthers with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, as Orange evened its Central Conference record at 1-1. Michael Clark drained all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field. Orange improved to 7-2 going into Christmas week.
Western Alamance, who started the season 4-0, played without guard James Newton, who was in Spartanburg, South Carolina suiting up for North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl. The Warriors (4-2, 0-1) were led by Camden Oliveira, who scored 16 points and five rebounds.
After the Warriors scored the opening five points, including a 3-pointer from Hamilton Plunkett, Orange responded with a 14-3 run and didn’t trail again. Clark and Pennix drained consecutive 3-pointers while Freddie Sneed scored off a steal and lay-in after he picked the pocket of Plunkett at midcourt.
The Panthers made their living off a half-court trap. In the second quarter, Orange forced three consecutive turnovers that led to points, including a 10-second violation. Oliveira kept the Warriors within striking distance, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the first half. The Panthers led 37-17 at halftime after Kai Wade sank two free throws, followed by a 3-pointer from sophomore Ethan Ellis.
Wade, a junior point guard, has scored in double figures in all nine of Orange’s games.
The Panthers quickly made it a rout in the second half. After Wade stripped the ball away from Oliveira, Clark drained back-to-back shots from downtown. Then Clark stole the ball from guard Jayden Jones, leading to a lay-in from Sneed assisted by Pennix. Pennix added to the Warriors woes with a 3-pointer to extend the Orange lead to 50-27. Warriors coach Ryan Suttles responded by pulling his entire starting five and let his reserves finish out the quarter. It was a move that proved to be beneficial for backup Western guard Drew Cohn, who scored eleven points in six minutes.
Orange will make a trip to Northeast Guilford to face the Ivanhoe Knights from Australia on Monday night. Next Friday, the Panthers will open play in the South Granville Holiday Invitational. They will open the eight-team tournament against East Wake.
Women’s basketball: Western Alamance 64, Orange 35:
The Western Alamance women’s basketball team is the defending Central Conference champions. On Friday night, they looked the part in a dominant performance over Orange in the Warriors opening league game.
Senior Allie Sykes led the Warriors with 15 points as the Warriors improved to 6-1. They avenged its only conference loss from last year against the Lady Panthers.
After Orange’s Marshea Byrd tied the game at 2-2 with a lay-in, the Warriors kept the Lady Panthers scoreless for the final 6:07 of the first quarter. As usual, the Warriors outside game was fierce, sinking ten 3-pointers. Though Sykes was the only Warrior in double-figures, nine different Western Alamance players scored.
Orange senior Evelyn George led the Panthers with 18 points, but only three Orange players scored in the first half as the Warriors led 35-11 at halftime. George has scored in double figures in all eight of Orange’s games this year. Addie Atkins added six points for Orange, but the Lady Panthers were hampered by the Warriors perimeter defense. Orange sank just one 3-pointer.
Orange will head to Haw River for the holidays. They will open the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoops Invitational on Friday with a first round game against Southeast Alamance. The athletic director at Southeast Alamance is former Orange women’s basketball coach B.J. Condron.