After winning a game in the state playoffs and being one of only three teams in the state to beat Person this season, the Orange men’s basketball team had three players named to the All-Central Conference team.
Junior point guard Kai Wade, senior shooting guard Xandrell Pennix and senior forward Freddy Sneed were honored following a 19-9 season, the most wins for Orange men’s basketball since the 2016-2017 season.
Pennix surpassed 1,000 career points in Orange’s 70-45 win over Southern Alamance in the quarterfinals of the Central Conference Tournament on February 17 in Hillsborough. Pennix’s brightest moment came in the Panthers’ memorable 67-65 win at Person on January 9. The Rockets led 28-9 early in the second quarter but the Panthers stormed back to win. With Wade in foul trouble, Pennix led the Panthers with 19 points. In his final game in Hillsborough, Pennix truly saved his best for last. He finished with a season-high 23 points in a win over C.B. Aycock in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. He added six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Against Chapel Hill on December 10, Pennix scored 17 points as the Panthers defeated the Tigers 65-58. It was Orange’s first win over Chapel Hill since 2019. He had a string of six consecutive games in double-figures during January.
In his third straight year as Orange’s starting point guard, Wade immediately set the tone for the season when he scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Voyager Academy on November 15. He opened the season with ten consecutive games in double-figures. He scored 18 points against Mt. Zion Christian Academy on November 22, a 60-56 Orange win. Against Western Alamance on January 24, Wade scored 23 points as the Panthers won for the fourth straight time in Elon. The following game, Wade scored 21 points in a win over Walter Williams in Hillsborough, which was the Panthers sixth straight victory over the Bulldogs.
Despite being in foul trouble for most of the game, Wade tied his season-high with seven assists in the win over Person. He also had seven assists against the Ivahoe Knights from Australia in a special game played at Northeast Guilford High School on December 23.
Wade led the team with 14.9 points per game. In eleven of Orange’s last 12 games, Wade scored in double-figures. That included 19 points against Southern Alamance on February 7 in Graham. In the state playoff win over C.B. Aycock, Wade scored 16 points. Wade also led the team with 3.7 assists per game despite the Panthers losing leading scorer Coleman Cloer, who transferred to Caldwell Academy last summer. He also led the team with 3.7 steals per game.
Sneed was the defensive spark plug for an Orange team that made midcoast turnovers in trademark. Sneed averaged a career-best 10.3 points per game in his fourth year at the varsity level.
Sneed notched his career-high twice this season. He scored 21 points in a win over East Chapel Hill on December 17 in Hillsborough. Against Williams on January 28, he also scored 21 points.
In the win over Mt. Zion Christian Academy, Sneed had a crucial dunk that helped sew up the win over the Warriors. Sneed finished with nine points. He also had five steals.
After being more of a role player in his sophomore season, Sneed took on more of a scoring role this year. He started the season with 12 points in the victory over Voyager Academy. He scored in double-figures 14 times this year. Sneed had seven straight games in double-figures as the season wound down, including 14 points against Cedar Ridge on January 31 at Panther Gymnasium.
Against Southern Alamance in the Central Conference Tournament, he scored a career-high seven steals. Sneed had six assists in the win over Chapel Hill. He also had 17 points against the Ivanhoe Knights, which included a spectacular dunk in the second quarter.