Cedar Ridge Men’s Basketball

Just as the clock went to zero in his head coaching debut, Jaison Brooks wanted to capture the moment that he wishes would last forever.

It was a night every coach dreams of in his first game. Cedar Ridge, which went 1-23 the season before, had just routed the North Carolina School of Science and Match 77-48. The gym, triggered by the electrifying play of guard Mekai Collins, started to empty.

Brooks pulled out his iPhone to take a photo of the scoreboard, where the Red Wolves equalled its win total from all of last season on opening night.

It was certainly one to remember for the Red Wolves, who had as much life and enthusiasm than any point last year. Collins, in his return to Cedar Ridge after he spent his junior season at Orange, finished with 20 points to lead all scorers.

Junior Ian Johnson added ten points on a night where 14 Red Wolves scored.

“Mekai is one piece of the puzzle,” said Brooks. “He’s an awesome player. He plays with great intensity. He knows how to handle the ball, attack the basket and score. That’s an valuable asset that we definitely need on this team. The collaborative effort of everyone has added something to this team. He’s added some gasoline to the fire.”

Science and Math tied the game at 9 midway through the first quarter after a three-pointer from Ben Kersey. Johnson followed with a three-pointer, and Andrew Altieri canned a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to put Cedar Ridge ahead 25-13.

The Red Wolves finished the first half with 49 points, which included two more three-pointers from Johnson. James Ragland, Grayson Ramos and Chris Tinnen also added treys in a decisive spurt that put the game away. For comparison’s sake, Cedar Ridge failed to score 49 points in regulation in 17 of its 24 games last season.

At one point in the second half, Cedar Ridge led 54-27. It was a ridiculously dominant showing by Cedar Ridge after last season’s 1-win campaign, it’s hard to believe it was the same team. Of course, in some ways it wasn’t with Collins’ reemergence added a scoring punch that the Red Wolves desperately lacked last season.

Milan Wilkerson had 14 points to lead the Unicorns (0-3).

Cedar Ridge travels to Carrboro on Wednesday, then goes to Chatham Charter in Siler City on Thursday.

In the women’s game, NCSSM defeated Cedar Ridge 52-31. It was William Dobbs’ debut as head coach of the Lady Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind three-pointers from NaDia Oswald and Amiyah Gibbs. The Unicorns shifted into a 1-2-2 full-court zone press, which left the Red Wolves in a quandary since it was their first game without since the graduation of its all-time leading scorer, Madison Wardlow.

The Unicorns went on a 18-2 run and held the Red Wolves to two field goals in the second quarter. NCSSM led 21-15 at the half. They pulled away late.

Oswald was the only Red Wolf in doubles figures with eleven points. Gibbs scored five.

Bella Alfaro paced NCSSM with 15 points, while Anna Coley added 12.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Carrboro on Wednesday night at 6.

Cedar Ridge’s Ian Johnson had ten points in the Red Wolves’ season-opening win over the North Carolina School of Science and Math on Monday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Johnson came out firing with two three-pointers in the first half. Cedar Ridge showed its depth under new head coach Jaison Brooks. 14 Red Wolves scored as Cedar Ridge never trailed against the Unicorns. There was only one tie in the game at 9-9, at which point Cedar Ridge promptly went on a 11-1 run. Johnson and Mekai Collins were the only Red Wolves in double figures. Cedar Ridge had 26 bench points as they equaled its win total from all of last season as Coach Brooks won his first game as a head coach. The Red Wolves will travel to Carrboro on Wednesday night, then go to Chatham Central on Thursday in Bear Creek. 

Mekai Collins made his return to Cedar Ridge in a big way on Monday night. Collins, after spending last year at Orange, had a game-high 20 points as the Red Wolves defeated the North Carolina School of Science & Math. 77-48. The Red Wolves never trailed after Chris Tinnen opened the game with a technical free throw after the Unicorns were called for dunking in pregame warmups. Once the game started, Collins’ up-tempo game kicked into high gear as the Red Wolves scored 49 points in the first half. Collins spent his first two seasons at Cedar Ridge. After he left following his sophomore season, the Red Wolves went 1-23 last year. On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge will try to surpass its win total from all of last season when they travel to Carrboro. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting a 6 PM with the women’s game. Tim Hackett & Jason Knapp will have the call. 

There were be new faces about when the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s basketball teams start their respective seasons this afternoon.

However, one former Red Wolf will mark his return to his old gymnasium after a year away.

Mekai Collins will start his senior season inside a Cedar Ridge uniform, the same way he began his career as a freshman playing varsity.

Collins spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Cedar Ridge before he transferred to Orange last year. During a 10-15 season in 2018-19, Collins led the Panthers with 15.6 points and 4.2 assists per game.

Collins’ return to Cedar Ridge coincides with Jaison Brooks’ appointment as the new Red Wolves’ head coach. Brooks replaced Clay Jones, who left Cedar Ridge after six seasons last summer.

The Red Wolves went 1-23 last year, beating only Rockingham County in December.

Brooks, who previously served as an assistant coach at Southern Vance, will waste no time in putting the Red Wolves in motion. They will open with three games in four days this week, starting with tonight’s game against the North Carolina School of Science and Math inside Red Wolves Gymnasium. You can hear tonight’s game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 5:30 with the women’s game.

On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge travels to Carrboro, followed by a trip to Chatham Charter the following day.

“It’s a top heavy schedule, but I think we’ll be OK,” Brooks said. “We’ve been building towards this and life is full of lessons. So we’ll learn some good things and good lessons. We’re looking forward to it.”

Brooks steps into a Big 8 Conference that underwent major changes at the top. Hillside, the defending Big 8 Conference regular season and postseason champions, left the league to return to 4A. Southern Durham, the Big 8 runner up in 2018-19, lost head coach David Noel last month to the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA Gatorade League.

Replacing Noel was no other than Greg Motley, the most successful head coach in Orange High history.

There’s also the unknown in Vance County, led by longtime Northern Vance head coach Wilson Baskett. Last season as a 2A team, the Vipers tied Granville Central for the Northern Carolina 1A/2A regular season championship. They reached the quarterfinals of the 2A State Playoffs, where they lost to Farmville Central 85-75.

Brooks said he was encouraged with a scrimmage against Graham on Thursday.

“There was some good ball movement by our guards,” Brooks said. “There were some dunk attempts, which were awesome. They’re buying into the system and they’re buying into what we’re selling.”

After the conclusion of football season on November 8, K.J. Barnes, Zach Holmes and Jaikel Gibbs started practicing with the basketball team. Senior Braxton Mergenthal, a two-year varsity player, elected not to play basketball this year.

“K.J. has a spark on defense that we love,” Brooks said. “Him and Jaikel are strong defensively.”

Brooks won’t have a shortage of guards. In addition to Collins, junior Luke Pagnanelli and sophomore Cameron Harper return from last season.

“We have a bunch of guys who work hard,” Brooks said. “I think that’s the biggest thing that stands out is how everybody gives in practice. We have solid point guards that can help carry us. We have some good shooting guards, like Chris Tinnen, that will be a great role filler.”