Jeff Hamlin

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This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman women’s basketball center Kassidy Tolliver. In December, Tolliver scored 12 points to lead the Red Wolves over Durham School of the Arts 54-31 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham. On a young Cedar Ridge team that lost its top two scorers from last season, Tolliver has taken the reigns right away this season. Just eight games into her high school career, Tolliver is Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer. Tolliver has been playing basketball since her sixth grade year at Gravelly Hill Middle School, where she played alongside her current teammate Kennedi Fearrington. Against Eno River Academy, Tolliver scored 15 points as the Red Wolves defeated the Bobcats 41-25 in the first-ever game between the Hillsborough schools. Against Person on December 20, Tolliver grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Cedar Ridge won its first Central Conference game of the season on Friday night over Southern Alamance. Tolliver scored nine points, grabbed seven rebounds and forced eight steals. Tolliver has become a regular starter for the Red Wolves in her freshman season. She aims to keep improving as Cedar Ridge aims to reach the state playoffs for the second straight year. This week, Cedar Ridge will play three games over four days. They will host Orange on Tuesday, then host Chatham Central. On Friday night, the Red Wolves will travel to Mebane to face Eastern Alamance at Tal Jobe Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kassidy Tolliver

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman women’s basketball center Kassidy Tolliver. In December, Tolliver scored 12 points to lead the Red Wolves over Durham School of the Arts 54-31 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham.

In a Central Conference women’s basketball chase filled with experienced teams, Cedar Ridge is playing more freshmen in its regular rotation than seniors.

On Friday night, two rookies paved the way for the Red Wolves first conference win of the season.

Kennedi Fearrington tied her career-high with eleven points while Kassidy Tolliver added nine points as the Red Wolves held off Southern Alamance 37-29 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Friday night. Junior James Watson added nine points for the Red Wolves (4-5, 1-1 in the Central Conference).

Tolliver and Fearrington were teammates with the Gravelly Hill Middle School team the past three years, as well as several travel teams.

Southern Alamance outrebounded the Red Wolves 38-23. Sarah Kathryn Maness led all scorers with 15 points.

With the Patriots leading 14-12 at halftime, the Red Wolves scored eleven consecutive points starting with back-to-back 3-pointers from Watson and Elliott Wisenfeld. After Fearrington scored on a lay-in after a feed from Ava Smith, Watson drained another 3-pointer off a skip pass from Fearrington. In the final seconds of the quarter, Tolliver scored off a pass from Fearrington to give Cedar Ridge a 25-18 lead going into the final stanza.

Cedar Ridge forced eight Southern Alamance turnovers in the third quarter.

Maness keyed a late Southern Alamance charge. With 1:37 remaining, she made two free throws to cut the Red Wolf lead to 33-27. Maness stole the ball off an inbounds pass and scored on a lay-in with 1:321 remaining. Fearrington put the game away on a breakaway lay-in off a pass from Fearrington.

Cedar Ridge didn’t trail in the first quarter after Wisenfeld scored on a 3-pointer on Cedar Ridge’s first possession. Tolliver scored off a steal by Fearrington to cap a 7-2 Red Wolf run to start the game. Southern Alamance’s Emory Gilley scored a jumper off a pass from Maness to give the Patriots its first lead at 11-10. Maness drained a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Southern Alamance the lead going into the locker room.

Men’s Basketball: Southern Alamance 51, Cedar Ridge 49: In a game with 16 lead changes, Southern Alamance built a 48-39 lead and held on for dear life to beat the Red Wolves on Friday night.

Drayden Brewer paced a balanced Patriot attack with 12 points as Southern Alamance won despite shooting 29% from the field. The Patriots grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Jordan Jacobson led all scorers with 17 points, shooting 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Red Wolf senior Braeden Wilbourn added 13 points.

Jacobson knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game 27-27 at halftime. Cedar Ridge center Jack Kelsey, who finished with six blocks, scored off a pass from Jacobson to give the Red Wolves a 31-29 lead, but that would be the home team’s last lead. Southern Alamance went on a 12-2 run keyed by Brewer, who sank consecutive 3-pointers. Southern Alamance’s Riley Warren, who finished with ten points and eleven rebounds, assisted on Brewer’s second three-pointer that put the Patriots ahead 41-32.

Cedar Ridge (5-8, 0-2) chipped away at the Patriot lead in the final five minutes. Southern Alamance was held without a field goal for 4:46 as Jacobson drained back-to-back 3-pointers which reduced the Patriots lead to 48-45 with 1:56 remaining. Warren scored a crucial lay-in off a pass from Brewer with 1:01 remaining. Cedar Ridge’s Tripp Beasley got free on the wing, took a skip pass from Jacobson and scored another 3-pointer to cut the Red Wolf deficit to 50-48.

Brewer split two free throws with 20 seconds remaining. With Cedar Ridge trailing 51-48, Kelsey grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot, which led to Wilbourn hitting one free throw. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Beasley stole the ball from Brewer. In a wild scramble at the finish, Wilbourn got free for a 3-point attempt which bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

BURLINGTON–There’s no place like home for the holidays.

Unfortunately, it’s a place that Orange basketball won’t be seeing for awhile.

On December 23, the Panthers played the Ivanhoe Knights out of Australia at Northeast Guilford High School. It started a string of ten consecutive games away from Panther Gymnasium.

In the midst of the coldest winter in several years, there’s also the problem of illness and fatigue.

Sure enough, the Orang men’s basketball team was sick and tired as they entered Burlington last Friday night. Coach Derryl Britt didn’t make the trip because he was under the weather. Assistant coach Lemont Jones, who lives six minutes away from Williams High in Graham, learned at about 1 o’clock on Friday afternoon that he would serve as acting head coach.

While Orange’s shooting was as cold as the winter early, the Panthers overcame foul trouble to post its fifth straight win over Williams 66-60. Junior point guard Kai Wade led the Panthers with 20 points as Orange improved to 10-4 overall, its best start ever in Britt’s seven-year tenure.

Orange didn’t trail after the midway point of the first quarter, but never built a lead larger than eight points until the final minute of regulation.

Jaeden Smith paces Williams (5-6, 0-1 in the Central Conference) with 21 points.

With Orange leading 29-24 at halftime, Panther senior Michael Clark opened the second half with a stickback bucket to give the Panthers its largest lead of the game. Whenever Orange pushed its lead out to seven points, the Bulldogs found a way to draw closer. Williams’ Cavion Stokes drained his only field goal of the game beyond the arc narrowed the Panthers’ lead to 38-34. Orange senior Freddy Sneed, who finished with 14 points, scored on an acrobatic lay-in. Just moments after checking into the game for the first time, the Bulldogs’ Kyrian Fuller scored off a lay-in while getting fouled by Jalen Crayton. Fuller’s free throw reduced Orange’s lead to 38-37 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Orange junior Ethan Ellis came up with back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot in the left corner to extend the Panther advantage to 44-37.

Elliot, who scored eleven of his 15 points in the second half, started the fourth quarter with a dribble drive lay-in to cut the Panther lead to 44-42. Orange center Hector Garrido got two offensive rebounds on a possession that wound up with Xandrell Pennix scoring his first three-pointer of the game. After Elliot scored on another lay-in, Pennix immediately drained another shot from downtown. Wade knocked down seven free throws in the final minute to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Smith scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half.

Women’s Basketball: Orange 58, Water Williams 41: On the night she claimed her 20th career double-double, Orange senior Evelyn George may have come the closest anyone has in women’s basketball history to a triple-double.

George finished with 18 points, ten rebounds and seven assists as Orange rolled past Williams in Burlington to win its first Central Conference game. Senior center Marshea Byrd added eleven points and four rebounds as the Lady Panthers won in Burlington for the first time since December 6, 2018.

Despite finishing seventh in the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoops Invitational, the Lady Panthers made its presence felt. They extended Southeast Alamance to double overtime on December 27 before falling 74-72. Orange senior Shannon Murphy scored a career-high 18 points against the Stallions. Maura McMurtry added 21 points to lead Orange against the Stallions,

After losing to Green Hope in the consolation round, Orange easily put away Northeast Guilford 60-28 in the seventh place game. George finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Byrd came away with five points and ten rebounds. McMurtry finished with 14 points off 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

With the win over Williams, Orange is now 6-6 overall.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior point guard Kai Wade. The Panthers opened the season with a win over Voyager Academy on November 15. Wade set a career-high with 31 points in a 75-64 Orange victory. After Coleman Cloer and Mason Robinson each left Orange after their sophomore seasons last June, a greater scoring load fell on Wade’s shoulders. He has responded by being the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.7 points per game after 13 games. Wade led Orange with 18 points in Orange’s 60-50 win over Williams on Friday night. It was the Panthers third straight win over Williams at Spike Gymnasium. Wade has been a winner in basketball dating back to his days at Gravelly Hill Middle School, where he was a starter on the Grizzlies 2020 Orange Person Athletic Conference championship team. He formed a bond with teammates Freddy Sneed, Xandrell Pennix, Cloer and Robinson from the time he started as a freshman at Orange. Last year, he was the starter for Orange’s 2024 Central Conference Tournament championship team, the first time since 2016 that the Panthers won a postseason conference tournament. Wade also helped the Panthers to the 2024 Central Conference regular season title, the first time since 2017 that the Panthers won a regular season crown. Wade will continue his junior season at Cedar Ridge on Tuesday night.

Orange Panther of the Week: Kai Wade

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior point guard Kai Wade. The Panthers opened the season with a win over Voyager Academy on November 15. Wade set a career-high with 31 points in a 75-64 Orange victory.

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CREEDMOOR: There are some things in this world you can’t explain.

Like how a team can lose three consecutive games separated by 727 days inside a random gymnasium, 28 miles from hits home, each time because of game-winning shots at the buzzer.

The Orange men’s basketball team got a sour reminder of why the South Granville Holiday Invitational is viewed as Black Christmas around Panther circles on Friday night in the opening round of the Navy Bracket tournament at Viking Gymnasium. East Wake’s Jamal Tayborn drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Warriors, who came into the game 1-6, past Orange 57-54.

Orange junior Kai Wade, who has started in each of the Panthers’ painful losses at South Granville, had tied the game on a layup with :7.6 seconds remaining. In desperation, the Warriors, out of timeouts, found Byers along the left sideline to drain a 21-footer just as (or, as some Orange coaches felt, after) the buzzer sounded.

Orange (8-3) didn’t have star forward Freddy Sneed, who was sick. His absence made the night as pleasurable as a root canal for Orange, whose largest lead was four points. The Panthers’ usual spark defensively to create points off steals was lacking. On top of that, a rangy, tall Warriors team forced Orange into a season-high 20 turnovers.

In 2022, Orange reached the semifinals of the South Granville Holiday Invitational and led South Granville 64-58 with 1:33 remaining. The Vikings used its press to storm back and win at the buzzer off a layup by K.J. Green to beat Orange 67-65. The following day in the third place game, Sanderson’s Tommy Lyon sank a one-handed runner as time expired to beat Orange 55-54, ruining a late Panther comeback, led by 29 points from freshman Coleman Cloer.

Orange freshman Xandrell Pennix led Orange with 20 points.

East Wake’s Donovan Majette led the Warriors with 20 points, including 17 in the first half. The Warriors made its living behind the arc in the first half, scoring six consecutive field goals  to keep it close at halftime. Orange senior Michael Clark scored 12 points in the first half. Pennix scored the final six points of the first half to push the Panthers to a 36-32 halftime lead.

Orange led going into the fourth quarter by four points, but the Warriors got three field goals from Jacob Byers, who finished with ten points, including a stickback basket that gave East Wake a 50-44 lead, the largest of the game by either side.

The Panthers will face Wakfield in the consolation round on Monday morning at 11. East Wake will face Jordan in the semifinals.

Women’s basketball: Southeast Alamance 74, Orange 72 (2OT): 

In possibly its most inspired performance of the year, the Orange women took the 2nd-seed in the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoopla Tournament to the edge of elimination on Friday night in Haw River. The Stallions (7-1) defeated Orange behind Clara LaChapelle with 20 points.

Orange received a career-high 18 points from senior Shannon Murphy off 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Lady Panthers point guard Maura McMurtry shot 6-of-7 from 3-point range and led all scorers with 21 points. Senior forward Evelyn George finished with her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She also finished with five blocks.

Shaniya Paylor added 19 points for Southeast Alamance, who advanced to the tournament championship game with a win over Eastern Alamance on Saturday.

The Orange women will face Northeast Guilford in the 7th pace game on Monday morning at 9:30.

Men’s Basketball: Apex 81, Cedar Ridge 55: 

A good start for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team wasn’t enough against a deep Apex squad in the opening round of the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoopla men’s tournament on Friday night. The Red Wolves scored the opening four points, but the Cougars went on a 15-2 run to take control of the game.

The Red Wolves were without center Jack Kelsey. Reserve Rowan Wise, in his first varsity game for Cedar Ridge, scored nine points.

The Cougars put three players, all reserves, in double-figures. Zaelyn White came off the bench to score 16 points while Stephen Beatty added 15. Jacob Lubker scored 14 points.

Braeden Wilbourn led Cedar Ridge with 17 points. The Red Wolves will face Carrboro in the 7th place game on Monday morning. The Red Wolves opened the season with a victory over the Jaguars.

MEBANE–Saturdays in the winter can be generic for high school wrestlers.

Almost every weekend, they’re at a tournament inside a gym with bleachers. Aside from the school colors, the surroundings look almost the same each week.

The Eagle Invitational in Mebane offers a respite. It’s held at the Mebane Arts Center, where wrestlers walk past paintings and portraits on their way into the center to compete. Fans watch from portable seating that’s set up and removed by organizers from Eastern Alamance High School before and after the tournament. There also isn’t the usual hardwood gym floor under the mats.

It was the first time in years that Cedar Ridge competed in the Eagle Invitational. On the Saturday before Christmas, three Red Wolves won individual championships as Cedar Ridge won the team championship, their second tournament title of the year.

Freshman Juan Jaramillo won his first tournament championship while his older brother Favio Jaramillo captured his first individual title at 113 pounds as the Red Wolves won the team championship with 215 points. Cedar Ridge, despite losing seven starters from last year, has won two tournaments this year. They opened the 2024-25 campaign by taking the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem on November 16.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Alejandro Briones won the championship at 150 pounds, his first individual championship of the season. Briones scored technical falls in both of his matches. He defeated Northwood’s Cole Shambley 21-6 in a bout that last three minutes. In the final, Briones defeated top-seeded Sincere Savage 19-4. Briones came away from the Eagle Invitational 30-4 with 15 pins on the season.

Orange claimed two individual champions. At 138 pounds, senior Braden Crawford won the Eagle Invitational for the third time. Crawford scored three pins on his way to the championship. In the final, he pinned East Chapel Hill’s Cole Shuster in 2:42. He opened with a quarterfinal victory over Chase Johnson of Bartlett Yancey in 1:36. Crawford, a senior Co-Captain, is 16-4 with 12 pins this season.

Graylon Collins of Cedar Ridge finished 3rd at 138 pounds. Collins defeated Ali Alissa of Northwest Guilford 16-5 in the consolation final.

Orange’s Jayden Medley earned his first championship of the year at 215 pounds. Medley, seeded seconds, pinned four straight opponents to improve to 17-7 on the year. Medley defeated top-seeded Stephen Silhan of Chatham Center in 4:22 in the final. Medley scored three takedowns before he gained a reversal in the final period leading up to the finish. In the semifinals, Medley pinned Kennedy Woods of Southeast Alamance in 29 seconds.

Juan Jaramillo captured the 106 pound title for Cedar Ridge when he pinned Roland Owen of East Chapel Hill in the final. Jaramillo, who walked away from the Eagle Invitational with a 22-8 record, pinned Junior McKay of Overhills in the semifinal. Juan defeated Max Molinar of Orange in 1:18 to open the event.

Favio Jaramillo won the 113 pound championship by beating Alex Raymundo of Randleman in the final. In a tight match, Jaramillo trailed 3-2 in the second period before he got Raymundo on the bottom and scored the pin. Favio earned technical fall wins over Wyatt Collins of Northwood and Devin Rathburn of Chatham Central leading up to the final.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge freshman Thalia Paterno earned her third championship of the season by winning the 100 pound championship. In a round robin tournament, Paterno wasn’t working by the hour. She pinned all three of her opponents in less than 30 seconds. In the final match, Paterno pinned Kyra Mattis of Overhills in 28 seconds. She opened with a victory over Kaleigh Poteat of Southern Alamance in 15 seconds. In the sandwich match, Paterno pinned Kailey Cabrera of Bartlett Yancey in 15 seconds.

Cedar Ridge senior Pierce Prescod, just days after securing his 100th career pinfall win, finished 2nd at 126 pounds. Prescod dominated Hezekyan Matson of Randleman 24-2 in the semifinals. Brandon Mann of South Granville defeated Prescod 18-14 in a wild final where the lead changed twice in the opening three minutes.

The Red Wolves were buoyed to the team championship by several competitors who had their best tournament showings. Mikey O’Melia finished 2nd at 150 pounds, pinning second-seeded Shane Shuster of East Chapel Hill in the semifinals. Caden Rancer of Northern Guilford took the championship.

Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas came in third at 157 pounds. Anthony Bradley of Overhills, the eventual champion, upset Rakouskas via pinfall in the quarterfinals. Rakouskas actually competed against his own teammate, Isaiah Craig, in the consolation final. Rakouskas won a 17-0 technical fall.

At 215 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Oscar Najera finished third. He scored a 9-1 major decision over Aric Lipscomb of Bartlett Yancey in the consolation final.

Cedar Ridge senior Jordin Blue finished third at 165 pounds. Blue, who finished the tournament with an overall record of 21-8, defeated Angel Berlanga of Bartlett Yancey via pinfall in 3:15 in the consolation final.

Orange freshman Jordan Barbee reached the finals for the first time in a high school tournament at 190 pounds. Barbee pinned Jadyn Bryant of Northwest Guilford in 3:47. Jack Harty of Northern Guilford won the 190 pound title by pinfall in 2:16.

Orange’s Lucas Carrasco finished third at 120 pounds. Carrasco, a freshman, defeated Jaxton Strickland of Randleman 7-3 in the consolation final.