Cedar Ridge High School

It hasn’t shown in the win-loss record, but the Cedar Ridge boys basketball team has worked since early summer to try to make a daunting schedule in the Big 8 more manageable.

On Tuesday night, the hard work finally paid off.

Mekai Collins scored 16 points as the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 47-43 at Wildcats Gymnasium. The victory ended the Red Wolves’ nine-game losing streak and was its first win since November 17 against Jordan-Matthews.

Cedar Ridge is now 2-10, 1-3 in the Big 8. The game was the first-ever conference matchup between the two teams.

The Red Wolves opened the game on a 14-5 run. Terrence Crawford added 15 points, while Eddie Altieri added six.

Justin Tucker led East Chapel Hill (3-9, 0-4) with 15 points. He was the only Wildcat in double figures.

Cedar Ridge will be right back in action tonight with another road game at Warren County. Tuesday’s victory over East was Cedar Ridge’s first game of 2018. They will return home on Friday to host Hillside.

The snow is off the ground, school is back in session, and the race to determine the Big 8 Girls Basketball Regular Season Championship appears to be as wide open as ever.

The only thing that seems certain is Cedar Ridge will be right in the thick of it.

The Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 42-27 on Tuesday night at Wildcats Gymnasium. Madison Wardlow paced all scorers with 18 points as the Red Wolves improved to 3-1 in the Big 8, 9-5 overall. Cedar Ridge is tied with Hillside for 2nd place in the conference. The two teams will meet Friday at Cedar Ridge.

Jacori Walton added five points for the Red Wolves, who led 19-9 at halftime and were never seriously challenged in the second half. Yolanda Simpson and Logan Woody also scored five points each for Cedar Ridge, who played for the first time since beating Southern Vance on December 21.

No East Chapel Hill player got in double figures. Kayla Characklis paced the Wildcats with nine points. The Red Wolves held East to only four field goals in the entire second half.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Warren County tonight. Last week’s game against Northern Durham was postponed because of winter weather. A makeup date has yet to be announced.

CEDAR RIDGE: Yolanda Simpson 5, Tori Dalehite 1, Logan Woody 5, Madison Wardlow 18, Taylin Jean 3, Natalia Paray 4, Jacori Walton 5, Brianna Torain 2, Grace Davies 3.

EAST CHAPEL HILL: Kayla Characklis 9, T’Kiyah Reeves 5, Alex Mauney 6, Grace Vincent 2, Katie Characklis 2, Shoshana Halev 2, Victoria Baldwin 1.

For the second consecutive conference match, the Orange wrestling team posted a shutout. This time, it was against a crosstown rival.

Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 81-0 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Cedar Ridge forfeited eight matches, essentially giving Orange the victory before the buses rolled up to the school. Of the six matches contested, Orange won five by pin.

The only contest of the match that went the distance was at 120, where Noah Davis defeated Darius McLeod 6-3. Davis is now 6-4 this season.

At 113, Mitchell Askew pinned Debra Urban in 1:01. Askew improved to 11-3 with his seventh pin of the season.

Bailey Hawkins scored his 13th consecutive win by pinning Diana Pritchard in 1:35. Hawkins is now 14-1 on the season and hasn’t lost since the opening dual meet of the season on November 18 at OHS.

CT Lopeman earned his fifth pinfall of the season by finishing off Keegan Huntington in 1:06.

At 152, Mario Manduiano pinned Wyatt Robinson in 1:47. It was Manduiano’s fifth pin of the year.

Avery Jenkins improved to 12-2 by pinning Cutter Tate in 1:17. Jenkins is now 12-2 with six pins.

Josiah Ramirez (182), Braden Homsey (195), Jacob McBroom (220), Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Daylan Alston (285), Stephen Buck (106), Noah Davis (120), Levi Anderson (145), and Trey Jones (170) all won by forfeit. Ramiriez is now 15-0 this season with two individual championships. Homsey, also a senior, improved to 14-0, also with two individual championships.

Orange is now 9-0 overall, 3-0 in the Big 8 Conference.

Since Friday’s loss to Hillside, the word that Orange Coach Greg Motley has focused on is “toughness.”

It’s a good thing for Orange that they displayed exactly that on Tuesday night, because without it Cedar Ridge would have pulled an upset.

Mitch Portman scored 22 points as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 76-56 at Jim King Gymnasium. Eli Haithcock added ten as Orange defeated the Red Wolves for the sixth consecutive time.

Khalil Barnett had 16 to lead the Red Wolves, who placed three players in double figures. Terrence Crawford added 13 while Mekai Collins finished with ten.

“They’re a team that never quits,” said Orange coach Greg Motley. “We knew they were going to keep running. I thought our kids did a good job responding to the runs. Every time they made a run, I thought we did a good job of responding.”

Collins and Crawford hit 3-pointers to open the game to push the Red Wolves to a 6-2 lead early, but Orange quickly found its footing after a slow start. Orange ended the first quarter with a 20-4 run, ending with Portman scoring a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer following an odd sequence where Cedar Ridge was signaled possession, yet Orange was given the ball after a rebound went out of bounds off of Haithcock.

Orange’s Morgan Paschall scored all nine of his points in the second quarter, while Mekai Holt and Zyon Pettiford added four points each. Crawford finished with seven points in the second quarter, coming away with ten points in the first half, but Orange led 45-28 at the half.

Paschall’s nine points is a season-high. Motley would like to see him develop ball skills as the season continues.

“You break down a lot of stuff with crossover dribbles,” said Motley. “Started out this season, we knew he had to handle the ball more and better. He has to have the confidence to do it.”

The Red Wolves controlled the pace in the third quarter behind the three guard lineup of Collins, Barnett and Crawford. Cedar Ridge narrowed the gap to 46-34 behind a three-pointer from Crawford. It could have been even closer, but Cedar Ridge missed three cracks from point blank range after a series of offensive rebounds. Portman finally got a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast to push Orange’s lead to 48-34. In the latter stages of the third quarter, Cedar Ridge trailed 52-41 following a 3-pointer from Eddie Altieri, but Holt made a steal leading to a Portman lay-in. On the subsequent inbounds, Holt tapped the pass, leading to another Portman lay-up, and Orange led 56-41 despite treading water for much of the quarter.

“We feel like we gave up too many offensive rebounds against Hillside,” said Motley. “Our free throw percentage was way too low. We have some key things to focus on now.”

Orange faces Lee County on Wednesday night, followed by another road trip to South Granville on Friday. Cedar Ridge travels to Southern Vance on Thursday.

CEDAR RIDGE: Khalil Barnett 16, Terrence Crawford 15, Mekai Collins 10, Eddie Altieri 9, John Vaughn 3, Andrew Altieri 3.

ORANGE: Marquis Phelps 6, Mitch Portman 22, Kendall Whitted 5, Morgan Paschall 9, Joey McMullin 8, Mekai Holt 5, Eli Haithcock 10, Matt Atherton 2, Zyon Pettiford 4, Jason Franklin 1, Marvante Beasley 2.

Any victory for Cedar Ridge over Orange is precious, especially when its in the Panthers gym.

That’s why the smiles on Cedar Ridge’s seniors were a little wider after the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 46-39 on Tuesday night. Yolanda Simpson, who earned her first win over Orange as a varsity member of the Red Wolves, led Cedar Ridge with 15 points. Madison Wardlow added ten, including two huge baskets in the fourth quarter.

“I guess this was a redemption game for Yolanda,” said Cedar Ridge Coach Felton Page. “She’s been coming off the bench and she played well tonight. We’re starting to come together. We haven’t had a full team all season long, but we’re starting to come together.”

Orange senior Janea Myers paced Orange with 13 points, but the Panthers were held to only two 3-pointers. Sophomore Lauren Cates added 12.

Cedar Ridge (7-5, 2-2) had lost seven of its last eight against the Panthers, with its last victory coming on January 5, 2016, a 46-45 win at OHS.

So how big it is for Cedar Ridge to beat its crosstown rival. It depends on who you ask.

”It’s big for the kids, but it’s just another game for us,” said Page. “It’s a conference game, so it’s important for us to get the win.”

However, Simpson and Wardlow have another opinion.

“Definitely not,” said Simpson. “This is the first time we’ve beaten Orange in two years so it’s really exciting, especially since I’m a senior.”

Both teams played without starters. Cedar Ridge forward Grace Davies was sidelined with the flu. Orange’s leading scorer, Icez Barnett, suffered a right foot injury against Hillside on Friday.

Orange (3-4, 1-3) ended the third quarter with a 31-29 lead, but the fourth quarter was dominated by the Red Wolves. On the opening possession, Simpson scored in the paint off a pretty feed from Taylin Jean to tie the game 31-31, then Catharine Coyle lay-in a pass from Simpson to give Cedar Ridge the lead. it was Coyle’s only points of the game.

Orange didn’t score in the opening 5:57 of the fourth quarter, turning the ball over on six consecutive possessions without attempting a shot. In the meantime, Wardlow returned to the game after suffering an injury to her stomach late in the third quarter. The rest proved vital as she immediately hit a three-pointer, then stole the ball from Myers and scored a lay-up on a breakaway to extend Cedar Ridge’s lead to 39-31, capping a 10-0 run.

”That was huge,” said Page. “She told me on the bench ‘Coach, I’m ready to go.’ And I said ‘No, you’re not because you’re still holding you’re stomach. Thenafter a while, she stopped holding her stomach. I guess she read my mind because once she got in the game, she made things happen. We need to get that from her and Logan Woody because they bring that spark for us.”

The Red Wolves made the run despite Jean and guard Logan Woody playing with four fouls most of the way.

Cedar Ridge travels to Southern Vance on Thursday. Orange will face Lee County in Sanford on Wednesday before traveling to South Granville on Friday.

CEDAR RIDGE 46, ORANGE 39

CR:  8    9    12     17-46

OHS: 13   2   16     8-39

CEDAR RIDGE: Yolanda Simpson 15, Natalia Garay 4, Logan Woody 5, Madison Wardlow 10, Tori Dalehite 4, Catharine Coyle 2, Taylin Jean 6.

ORANGE: Grace Dively 3, Nyshyra Wilkins 2, Kate Burgess 4, Janea Myers 13, Lauren Cates 12, Xandria Moore 2, Grace Andrews 2.

This winter’s first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is women’s basketball center Yolanda Simpson. Last week, Simpson led the Red Wolves to a victory over Northwood. On Tuesday night, Simpson paced the Red Wolves with 17 points as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 46-39, its first victory over the Panthers in nearly two years. When Yolanda isn’t playing basketball, she’s participating in performances at Cedar Ridge High, including last in the production of “Madrigal.” Joining Yolanda in this interview is point guard Madison Wardlow.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Yolanda Simpson

This winter’s first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is women’s basketball center Yolanda Simpson. Last week, Simpson led the Red Wolves to a victory over Northwood. On Tuesday night, Simpson paced the Red Wolves with 17 points as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 46-39, its first victory over the Panthers in nearly two years.

For the first time since January 19, 2016, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in girls basketball. Yolanda Simpson scored 15 points while Madison Wardlow added ten as the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 46-39. The Red Wolves held Orange scoreless in the first 6:01 of the fourth quarter, which proved to be the Panthers’ undoing. Coach Felton Page faced Orange without center Grace Davies, who is out with the flu, but still earned a vital victory over a crosstown rival.

Cedar Ridge Girls Basketball Coach Felton Page Discusses the Red Wolves Victory over Orange

For the first time since January 19, 2016, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in girls basketball. Yolanda Simpson scored 15 points while Madison Wardlow added ten as the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 46-39. The Red Wolves held Orange scoreless in the first 6:01 of the fourth quarter, which proved to be the Panthers’ undoing.

For the first time since 2013, Carrboro has defeated Cedar Ridge in boys basketball.

DeAndre Burnette scored 20 points as the Jaguars defeated the Red Wolves 65-49 at Carrboro High on Wednesday night. Cole Phillips added eleven for the Jaguars, who had lost six straight to the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge (1-6) was led by Khalil Barnett’s 17 points. Mekai Collins added 14. Collins has scored in double figures in every game he’s played in this season.

It was the first time Carrboro defeated Cedar Ridge since the two teams were conference rivals in the 2-A Mid-State Conference.

The Cedar Ridge girls basketball team ended a four-game losing streak with a 39-27 victory over the Jaguars.

The Red Wolves jumped out to a 21-14 halftime lead, then held the Jaguars to only four points in the third quarter to pull away. Individual statistics were not sent in from the Red Wolves coaches.

The Cedar Ridge girls team is now 5-4.

CARRBORO 65, CEDAR RIDGE 49

CR-10    13      16.   10-49

CAR-14   15      22    14-65

CEDAR RIDGE: Eddie Altieri 2, Khalil Barnett 17, John Vaughn 1, Terrence Crawford 8, Mekai Collins 14, K.J. Barnes 5, Braxton Mergenthal 2.

CARRBORO: Chris Thompson 8, DeAndre Burnette 20, Jared Porter 9, Nick Jones 3, Zach Anderson 3, Caleb Jones 4, Cole Phillips 11, Neel Mahadevan 3, Tim Rogers-Neal 4.

There were signs of progress for the Cedar Ridge boys basketball team against Word of God Christian Academy.

Facing one of the top freelance teams in the Triangle, the Red Wolves trailed 32-28 at the half behind another strong performance by guard Mekai Collins, who finished with 21 points.

The lack of size for the Red Wolves caught up with them in the second half as the Holy Rams outscored the Red Wolves 49-18 in the second half, winning 81-46 in Raleigh. Word of God put four players in double figures, led by Zach Newkirk’s 18 points.

Collins was the only player in double figures for the Red Wolves, who suffered its third straight loss and fell to 1-5.

In the girls game, Word of God held off Cedar Ridge 44-38. Statistics were not provided from the game.

Cedar Ridge returns to action on Wednesday night at Carrboro for a tripleheader. The girls will tipoff at 6, with the boys starting at 7:30. The Red Wolves boys team have dominated the Jaguars in recent years,  winning the last seven matchups. The last Carrboro win over Cedar Ridge was on February 20, 2013 in the Mid State 2A Tournament.

WORD OF GOD 81, CEDAR RIDGE 46

CEDAR RIDGE-Eddie Altieri 7, Khalil Barnett 8, Terrence Crawford 5, Chris Tinnen 2, Mekai Collins 21, Chris Tinnen 3.

WORD OF GOD-Anthony 3, Burt 4, Newkirk 18, Cooper 10, Spencer 9, Furtrell 5, King 18, Forte 4, Cash 10.