There will be one final basketball doubleheader at Orange High this winter.
A difficult non-conference schedule led to the Orange men’s basketball team hosting a state playoff game for the second straight year.
The Orange women’s basketball team will host a state playoff game for the first time since 2019.
On Sunday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the seeding for the state men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Orange, which finished in third place in the Central Conference, received a #13 seed. The Panthers will host #20 C.B. Aycock in Hillsborough on Tuesday night in the opening round of the 3A State Tournament.
The Orange women, which reached the Central Conference Tournament championship game, received a #16 seed. The Lady Panthers will face Swansboro, the #17 seed from the Costal Conference in the opening round.
The Orange men’s team jumped ahead of Eastern Alamance in the final regular season RPI rankings released by the NCHSAA on Sunday morning. The Panthers played six games against teams that won their respective regular season conference championships. They defeated Voyager Academy, who finished 12-0 in the 1A Triangle North Athletic Conference, in the season-opener. They also won at Chapel Hill, which finished 3rd in the DAC Conference, and was one of only two teams to defeat Central Conference champion Person.
Though Eastern Alamance swept the regular season series from Orange to tie Person for a share of the conference regular season title, the Eagles also lost to Chapel Hill (65-37), Mt. Zion Christian Academy, whom the Panthers defeated 60-56 on November 22. The Eagles also dropped a game to Western Alamance, a squad the Panthers handily swept.
Most intriguing of all for Orange is the potential second-round matchup. The winner of Orange-C.B. Aycock will face either Person or Currituck County. The Panthers have played Person three times, with the total margin of victory being five points. On January 9, Person led 28-9 in Roxboro, but Orange roared back with its best outside shooting game of the season in a stunning 67-65 win in Roxboro.
On February 4, Person defeated Orange 53-52 in Hillsborough. Last Tuesday, Person’s Tyler Wilson scored on a stickback bucket at the buzzer to lift the Rockets over the Panthers 55-53.
Person (25-2), seeded #4, had both of its regular season losses come in a span of five days during January. They have avenged losses to Orange and Eastern Alamance this month and defeated both teams to win the Central Conference Tournament last week.
C.B. Aycock and Orange have one common opponent this season. East Wake, the champions of the Quad County Conference, defeated Orange 57-54 on December 27 in the South Granville Holiday Invitational when Jamal Tayborn hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in Creedmoor.
C.B. Aycock split the season series with East Wake. The Golden Falcons defeated East Wake 79-67 on December 20, just before the Warriors game against Orange. East Wake won the rematch 61-57 in Wendell.
C.B. Aycock is undefeated in February and takes an eight-game winning streak into the state playoffs. They haven’t lost since January 29.
Most likely, Tuesday will be the final home game for Orange seniors Xandrell Pennix, Freddy Sneed, Michael Clark, Ethan Ellis, Conrad Graham, Jamari McDaniel, Barrett Liner and Ian Wilson.
The Orange women’s basketball team surpassed Eastern Alamance in the final two weeks of the season to earn a home date in the state playoffs. Senior Shannon Murphy hit two free throws with one second remaining to push the Lady Panthers past Eastern Alamance 64-63 on February 18 in Hillsborough. Last week, the Panthers routed the Eagles 54-36 at Western Alamance to reach the title game of a conference tournament for the first time since 2017.
The winner of Orange-Swansboro will face either top-seeded Terry Sanford or #32 West Johnston.
Swansboro finished the regular season with five straight wins, including two victories over West Carteret in a span of eleven days to wind up in second place in the Coastal Conference. The Pirates (14-6) finished behind Croatan.
Orange (17-9) had a season-best six-game winning streak come to an end against Western Alamance in the Central Conference Tournament championship game in Hillsborough on Saturday. In all likelihood, it will be the final home game for Orange seniors Evelyn George, Marshea Byrd, Shannon Murphy, Chloe Caldwell, Bryce Jones and Rhiley Crabtree.
The last time the Orange women’s team hosted a state playoff game, it was 2019. Eastern Alamance upset Orange 57-52 in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers last state playoff win came in 2017 when they defeated Havelock in the 2nd round behind 20 points from Kaylen Campbell, now a Lady Panthers assistant coach.