Cedar Ridge Men’s Basketball

At this time two years ago, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team was counting the days to a merciful end of an interminable 1-23 season.

The sophomores on that team included Ian Johnson, Luke Pagnanelli, Grady Ray and Sam Garbee. On February 1, 2019, they lost to Orange 74-49 inside Panther Gymnasium. It was their eighth loss to the Panthers in the last nine meetings.

If you had told any of those players it would be their last loss against Orange ever, you probably have gotten some strange looks and perhaps even laughter.

But the atmosphere around Cedar Ridge men’s basketball has changed and the balance of basketball power across Hillsborough has undeniably shifted to the west end of town.

The Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 51-48 on Friday night at Orange Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s fourth consecutive win over Orange. Pagnanelli sank two free throws with 1:09 remaining after he stole the ball from Orange in the open court and was fouled in transition.

It was Pagnanelli’s only free throws of the game.

“It was my last game against Orange,” Pagnanelli said. “We just had to come out firing early. They started falling.”

In a frantic final minute, Orange’s Jason Franklin missed a one-handed runner, which was rebounded by Johntez Raspberry. Cedar Ridge’s Neco Clark, with Cedar Ridge leading 49-48, missed a shot, which was rebounded by Devin Corbett with 15.9 seconds remaining. Orange’s Jerec Thompson missed a 3-pointer, leading to Johnson canning two free throws for the margin of victory.

“At the end of practice, Coach Brooks makes us shoot free throws,” Johnson said. “I get a little competitive with Garrett Ray because we typically compete in free throw contests at the end of practice. He usually beats me, but I got them to go in tonight.”

Orange’s final points came off a 15-footer by Thompson with 3:53 remaining.

The Panthers missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer. Orange, which is now 0-6, last won a game against Northern Durham on February 14, 2020.

Thompson led orange with 23 points. It was Orange’s second game in two days. On Thursday, the Panthers led by as many as 15 points against Southern Durham (and by 12 at the half) before falling 64-52. Franklin scored 24 against the Spartans, but was held to six against the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge (3-5) will host Northern Durham on Tuesday. With only the initial meetings between league rivals being counted as conference games this year, Cedar Ridge has two conference games remaining against Southern Durham and Vance County. They can play as many as six more games, but Friday’s game against Orange will be the last time they see their crosstown rivals this season.

Jerec Thompson flat-out shot Orange into a double-digit lead early. Thompson scored 15 of Orange’s first 19 points as the Panthers led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Franklin opened the second quarter with two free throws, followed by a three-pointer by Ryan Moss, which pushed the Orange lead to 24-12.

It was reminiscent of the first matchup between the two teams on January 11, when Orange built a 19-point lead, only to have the Red Wolves charge back to win in overtime.

This time, Cedar Ridge erased the 12-point deficit before halftime. It started when Johnson sank a three-pointer, followed by another from Pagnanelli that forced an Orange time out. Pagnanelli knocked down two more field goals, and a three-pointer from Clark pushed Cedar Ridge ahead 28-27 at the half.

With the scored tied going into the fourth quarter, Jerec Thompson knocked down a three-pointer to put Orange in the lead, which was followed by another trey from J.J. Thompson.

“I was nervous, but I knew we could come back,” Pagnanelli said. “We came back on them the last time. We have a good team and I thought we were going to win it down the stretch.”

Not to be outdone, Cedar Ridge tied the game with consecutive three-pointers from Pagnanelli and Johnson to even the game at 46.

It is the longest winning streak Cedar Ridge has ever had against Orange in the history of the rivalry, which started in 2002.

Orange will play its final Big 8 Conference game against Vance County on Saturday, its third game in three days.

CEDAR RIDGE 51, ORANGE 48

CEDAR RIDGE: Ian Johnson 14, Luke Pagnanelli 22, Neco Clark 10, Garrett Ray 3, A.J. Richmond 2.

ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 23, J.J. Thompson 6, Jason Franklin 6, Kyle Stanley 2, Hunter Birch 5, Ryan Moss 5, Devin Corbett 1.

In 2019, it would be hard to imagine the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves beating crosstown rival Orange four consecutive times. But that’s exactly what’s happened since Jaison Brooks became the head coach of the Red Wolves in the summer of 2019. On Friday night, Cedar Ridge swept the season series from Orange, beating the Panthers 51-48 at Orange High Gymnasium. Senior guard Luke Pagnanelli led Cedar Ridge with 22 points, including five three-pointers. Friday’s win was especially sweet for Pagnanelli, who was a member of the 2018-2019 Cedar Ridge team that won one game the whole season. After the Red Wolves third win of the season, Cedar Ridge will host Northern Durham on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

What would happen if two crosstown rivals had a classic basketball game and no one showed up?

Chances are, it would look a lot like Orange-Cedar Ridge on Monday night.

The Red Wolves, who trailed 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter, went on a 24-7 run to finish regulation and force overtime. From there, Cedar Ridge held off its crosstown rivals 67-66 in overtime to claim its third straight win over Orange.

Among the many things that have been missed during the interminable pandemic, the absence of exhilaration of a packed gym of Cedar Ridge fans watching the Red Wolves erase an 18-point deficit in the span of 5 minute and 53 seconds will certainly be among the most regrettable locally. Instead, the crowd was limited to junior varsity players and a few family members, who will have their own stark memories regardless.

Online records indicate it’s the first time ever that Cedar Ridge has beaten Orange three straight times. In 2014-15, the Red Wolves swept the season series from Orange, but the Panthers won six straight over the next three years.

Cedar Ridge senior Luke Pagnanelli, who suffered through 1-23 season as a sophomore, finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Pagnanelli scored the opening two field goals of overtime, including a stickback basket after he rebounded his own miss, thrown towards the glass so hard it nearly shattered through the backboard.

“I was looking for somebody to pass to,” Pagnanelli said. “it was too late so I just threw it up there, went and got it and threw it back in the goal.”

Cedar Ridge sophomore Neco Clark led the Red Wolves with 19 points.

Orange senior Jason Franklin finished with 20. Once again, the Panthers lived and died with the 3-pointer. They finished 11-of-26 from downtown. Jerec Thompson had 13.

“We have to learn how to win” said Orange Coach Darryl Britt. “I think we had some mental lapses. We were in good enough position to win this basketball game and we didn’t. We should have won this basketball game. We had this game won in regulation and we didn’t seal the deal. We just have to learn how to win basketball games.”

It was Franklin and Clark matched up in the last critical sequence of regulation. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for a full one minute, 34 seconds. Franklin was isolated with Clark at the top of the key and threatened to drive on him repeatedly, but relented at the instruction of Britt. Once Franklin made his move, he extended his arm and was called for an offensive foul, leading to overtime.

The decision to put Clark in that defensive role was a daring one by Cedar Ridge head coach Jaison Brooks, who is Clark’s father. Franklin is a four-year varsity starter. Clark was in his second varsity game.

“We told him he was on an island by himself,” Brooks said. “It was just him. We just reminded him of the good habits that we try to teach. To move his feet and keep Jason in front of him.”

Leading 33-29 at the half, Orange went on a 16-2 run to open the third quarter and appears to be on the verge of blowing the game open. Jared Wood came off the bench to score all eight of his points in the 3rd quarter, including a 3-pointer off an assist from J.J. Thompson to put the Panthers ahead 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter. 

Cedar Ridge scored nine straight points, including three-pointers from Clark and Ian Johnson, but Jerec Thompson drilled a three-pointer at the 3rd quarter buzzer to give the Panthers a 52-40 cushion going into the final stanza. 

Orange was held to four points in the final eight minutes of regulation. Pagnanelli opened the fourth quarter with consecutive three-pointers, including one in transition off a skip pass from Ian Johnson to narrow the Orange lead to 52-46. 

After a field goal from Panther center Kyle Stanley, James Raglnad went on a personal 8-0 run to briefly vault the Red Wolves ahead 56-54. Ragland canned back-to-back 3-pointers, then stuck back a miss by Pagnanelli to give Cedar Ridge a 56-54 lead. Stanley scored off his own offensive rebound to even the game. 

Ragland finished with ten points. 

Orange will travel to defending Big 8 Champion Northwood on Friday. Cedar Ridge travels to Northwood. 

Time will tell whether the first time against Orange for Neco Clark will be the best time, but it was certainly memorable. Trailing by 18 points, Cedar Ridge rallied to defeat Orange 67-66 in overtime. It was Clark’s first game against Orange on the varsity level and he was a huge part in the biggest plays of the game. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for over one minute trying to get the final shot on regulation. But Clark, a sophomore, drew a charge against Orange senior Jason Franklin with 8.6 seconds remaining. In overtime, Clark scored four points to lead Cedar Ridge with 19 points. it was the Red Wolves’ third straight win over the Panthers and its fourth in the last six games. Cedar Ridge is 1-1 and will travel to Northern Durham on Friday. 

Luke Pagnanelli’s final home game against Orange was one he will never forget. The Red Wolves rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Panthers 67-66 in overtime on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. Pagnanelli helped spark the comeback with a key 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Then Pagnanelli opened overtime by scoring consecutive field goals to put the Red Wolves ahead for good. For Pagnanelli, the win was extra sweet as a senior. He lost his first two games to Orange as a sophomore. Cedar Ridge improved to 1-1 after the comeback victory over its archrivals. The Red Wolves travel to Northern Durham on Friday night. 

The Rodcast is back! Our guest is New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Pearlman, the author of the new book “Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty.” Jeff spent three years on this project, and just as he was finishing work, Kobe Bryant tragically died in January. In this interview, Jeff discusses what Kobe’s relationship with Shaquille O’Neal, how Phil Jackson handled the big egos to win three consecutive championships from 2001-2003, and how Shaquille related to his teammates. If you’re an NBA fan or a fan of books about complicated relationships among people in the public eye, you’ll want to check out “Three Ring Circus.”

The Rodcast is back! On this edition, we talk with Curran Campbell of Hillsboroughsports.com. Curran is a basketball expert who weighed in on ESPN’s Greatest College Basketball Player of All Time poll from March. Curran, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2019, now attends Syracuse University. We also discuss the biggest sports conspiracy that we put stock in, as well as what’s ahead for sports once the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Thanks to Curran for his time!