Cedar Ridge Men’s Basketball

For two months, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team has had plenty of chances to earn its first Central Carolina Conference win, only to suffer agonizing close losses.

On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves led Eastern Alamance by 13 points in the third quarter, only to have the Eagles go on a 15-4 run to even the game. Eastern eventually prevailed 66-64.

Finally on Friday night, it was the Red Wolves time to shine, Kamil Harrison in particular.

Harrison scored on a finger roll with :3.1 seconds remaining to propel the Red Wolves past Western Alamance 55-53 on Friday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. It was Harrison’s only field goal of the second half.

Junior Colton Taylor led the Red Wolves with 21 points, while Neco Clark added 14 points and seven rebounds. Western Alamance (9-8, 5-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) was led by Davone Wagoner, who finished with 17 points and ten rebounds.

The victory snapped a nine-game conference losing streak for the Red Wolves (4-11, 1-8).
It appeared the Red Wolves would suffer another heartbreak in the final minutes. Cedar Ridge led 48-39 with 4:00 remaining after a stickleback bucket by Clark. Western responded with a 12-3 run in a span of 2:48, led by Kristopher Barnwell, who finished with 16 points. Barnwell scored eight points during the run, which led to Wagoner tying the game following a free throw with 1:12 remaining.

With the game even at 51-51, Clark hit two free throws to put Cedar Ridge ahead 53-51. On the Warriors subsequent possession, Barnwell missed a 15-footer, but rebounded his own miss and scored off the glass to tie the game.

Coming off a Western timeout, Harrison took an inbounds pass from Taylor, dribbled around a screen set by Rawling Taylor, cut down the paint and scored on a lay-in to send the Red Wolves bench into jubilation.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first win since December 13, when they defeated Raleigh Charter.

The Red Wolves won despite being outrebounded 39-20. The Warriors also had 16 turnovers compared to nine for the Red Wolves. Western Alamance was also 12-of-23 from the free throw line, while Cedar Ridge was 15-of-19.

Western Alamance never trailed in the first half. They started the game on a 12-5 run, keyed by consecutive 3-pointers with King Dorsey, which finished with ten points. The Red Wolves had only one rebound in the opening quarter.

With Western leading 24-15 at the half, Cedar Ridge opened the second half on a 14-2 run, keyed by Colton Taylor. Harrison found Taylor in transition for a lay-in, which led to a foul against Western’s Nick McGhee. Taylor made the free throw, then knocked down a jumper on the next possession. After two free throws by Harrison, Taylor knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Harrison. Garrett Ray gave Cedar Ridge its first lead with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter off a reverse lay-in on another fast break keyed by an outlet pass by Clark.

Jonavan Wingate put the Red Wolves ahead 40-31 at the end of the 3-pointer off an assist from Cameron Harper, but Western’s Wagoner drained a trey at the third quarter buzzer.

NORTHWOOD 78, ORANGE 62

Unlike Cedar Ridge, Orange did not end its conference losing streak on Friday night, but the Panthers let Central Carolina Conference leader Northwood know they were there.

Following a dismal 80-57 loss to Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Wednesday night, Orange led 42-41 against Northwood with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter following two free throws by Michael Clark. Griffin Hobbs scored on a lay-in to put the Chargers ahead 43-42, and the Panthers ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as Northwood pulled away to win 78-62 at Panther Gymnasium.

Clark, making his first start for Orange, injected energy into the Panthers with 12 points in the first quarter. Clark finished as the Panthers’ leading scorer with 17 points, while Jerec Thompson added 16.

Frederico Whitaker paced Northwood (16-3, 10-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) with 24 points. Kenan Parrish added 15, while Drake Powell had 14.

Orange led by as much as six points in the first half, but the taller and deeper Chargers put all five of its starters in double figures to improve to 10-0 in the Central Carolina Conference.

Northwood has won 16 in a row against conference opponents, dating back to last year in the final days of the Big 8 Conference.

Orange travels to Western Alamance on Saturday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior men’s basketball guard Colton Taylor. In Cedar Ridge’s season-opener, Taylor led the Red Wolves with 15 points in a 61-40 win over the Durham School of the Arts at Red Wolves Arena. Taylor scored seven points in the final quarter to earn a victory in his first varsity game. Two nights later, Taylor had eight points as the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 39-32. Taylor had two 3-pointers against the Wildcats. On December 6, Taylor was the only Red Wolf in double figures with 12 point against Northern Durham in Poe Gymtorium. The following week, Taylor had six points as Cedar Ridge defeated Raleigh Charter 55-37. Taylor also put up ten points against Person on December 10. Taylor and his older brother, Rawlins, are usually in the starting lineup for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will return to action on January 4 when the travel to Orange in the crosstown rivalry game. Cedar Ridge has beaten Orange four straight times.

PHOTO BY HEATHER BRADSHER

The Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team is now off to its best start in five years.

Behind 16 points from senior forward Rawlins Taylor, the Red Wolves easily rolled past Raleigh Charter 55-37 on Monday night at Red Wolves Arena. Cedar Ridge (3-4) kept the Phoenix scoreless in the opening 6:47 and rolled out to a 12-0 lead to start a wire-to-wire win.

The last time the Red Wolves had a better beginning to a season, it was the 2016-17 squad that started 3-2.

Raleigh Charter (0-3) was led by Colin Smith, who finished with 15 points.

Coming off losses to Western Alamance, Northern Durham and Person last week, the Red Wolves used its quickness to beat the Phoenix off the dribble. Neco Clark, Garrett Ray and Colton Taylor each had two field goals in the first quarter as the Red Wolves kept Raleigh Charter playing catch-up the entire game.

Clark threw down two dunks in the first half to put a jolt in the student section. Cedar Ridge placed three players in double-figures. In addition to Taylor, Ray added 13 points. Clark finished with a season-high ten points.

Cedar Ridge led 30-14 at halftime. Smith had eight of the Phoenix’s 14 points. Raleigh Charter center Sam Benjamin was the only other Phoenix in double figures with 12 points.

Since Cedar Ridge will not play in a Christmas tournament, this will be the final week of the 2021 calendar year for the Red Wolves. It will be an active one. The Red Wolves will travel to East Chapel Hill on Tuesday night in another nonconfernece game. Cedar Ridge defeated the Wildcats 39-32 on December 3. East Chapel Hill has not played since that game.

On Friday, Cedar Ridge will return to conference action against Northwood in Pittsboro. The Chargers, who played Weddington for the 3A State Championship last March, are 5-1 and captured its Central Carolina Conference opener over Orange 64-48 on December 4.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: CEDAR RIDGE 30, RALEIGH CHARTER 20

The Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team has officially surpassed its win total from the past two seasons combined.

After ending a 26-game losing streak against Northern Durham last Monday, the Red Wolves defeated Raleigh Charter (1-2) 30-20 on Monday night in Hillsborough. The Red Wolves only trailed once, and that was at 2-1. Junior guard Julie Altieri led the Red Wolves with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Phoenix Smith, who hit the game-winning shot with three seconds remaining against Northern Durham, added seven points and four steals for the Red Wolves (2-5).

Raleigh Charter’s Sophie Embry had seven points and 18 rebounds to lead the Phoenix.

After Raleigh Charter’s Sophie Wilson hit a jump shot to put the Phoenix ahead 2-1, Cedar Ridge held Raleigh Charter scoreless for the final 7:45 of the first quarter. Smith put the Red Wolves in the lead after a lay-in to trigger a 9-0 Red Wolf run. A minute later, Smith set up a 3-pointer by Altieri. To conclude the first quarter, Grace young sank a 3-pointer on a pass from Altieri to put the Red Wolves ahead 10-2 at the end of the first frame.

Embry scored on a lay-in while being fouled to open the second quarter, but it was the only field goal of the second quarter for the Phoenix. Smith assisted on a basket by Angelica Carbajal to put the Red Wolves ahead 12-5. A minute later, Carbajal assisted on a basket by Altieri. Of Cedar Ridge’s nine field goals, five had assists.

Cedar Ridge will travel to East Chapel Hill on Tuesday night. On December 3, the Red Wolves led by six points with 4:00 minutes remaining, but the Wildcats finished the game on a 13-0 run to win 39-32.

After a tough week, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team got back on the winning track with a 55-37 victory over Raleigh Charter on Monday night at Red Wolves Arena. For the second straight game, senior forward Rawlins Taylor was the leading scorer for the Red Wolves, finishing with 16 points. Cedar Ridge didn’t give up a point in the opening 6:47 seconds against the Phoenix and never trailed in the game. Sophomore forward Hayden Kirk added three points for the Red Wolves, who improved to 3-4 on the season. This week will be the final games of 2021 for the Red Wolves, but they will complete the calendar year with a busy slate. On Tuesday night, they travel to East Chapel Hill, who the Red Wolves defeated on December 3rd 39-32. East Chapel Hill hasn’t played since that loss. Then Cedar Ridge will face Northwood in Pittsboro on Friday for its final game before Christmas.